Graham Johnson

Eugene Iretnev had everything he need to succeed in life; an admirable education at home, high honours when he graduated in law at Petersburg University, and connections in the highest society through his recently deceased father. His one downfall was his love and sexual affair for a peasant woman. Once married, he tried to discontinue his "meetings" with the peasant woman, but found it to be impossible to live with... He must kill one of them... his wife or the peasant woman... or maybe himself. This great story is written with two alternate endings.Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.

Based on true events that have horrified the nation, Soljas is about a new form of gang warfare erupting on Britain's council estates, where guns and knives are as common as mobile phones. Dylan, Noxy and the infamous Strand Crew 'tax' rival drug dealers using a red-hot steam iron and celebrate by raping wannabe WAGS on YouTube videos.

"One of the greatest modernist composers comes alive in this illuminating biography, a must-have for musicians and music-lovers alike. Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) is widely acknowledged as one of the twentieth century's most significant masters of vocal music -solo, choral, and operatic- quite apart from his achievements in instrumental spheres. But what it cost him, and the determined bravery it took for his unusual talent to thrive, has always been underestimated. In this seminal biography, which will serve as the definitive guide to the songs, acclaimed collaborative pianist Graham Johnson shows that it is in Poulenc's extraordinary songs, and seeing how they fit into his life -which included crippling guilt on account of his sexuality- that we discover Poulenc heart and soul. With Jeremy Sams's vibrant new song translations, the first in over forty years, and the insight that comes from a lifetime of performing this music, Johnson provides an essential volume for singers, pianists, listeners, and readers interested in the artistic milieu of modernism in the first half of the twentieth century"--

This collection of eight "lectures" by internationally acclaimed pianist, Graham Johnson, is based on a series of concert talks given at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as part of the Benjamin Britten festival in 2001. The focus of the book is on Britten's songs, starting with his earliest compositions in the genre. Graham Johnson suggests that the nature of Britten's creativity is especially apparent in his setting of poetry, that he becomes the poet's alter-ego. A chapter on Britten's settings of Auden and Eliot explores the particular influences these writers brought to bear at opposite poles of the composer's life. The inspiration of fellow musicians is also discussed, with a chapter devoted to Britten's time in Russia and his friendship with the Rostropovitch family. Closer to home, the book places in context Britten's folksong settings, illustrating how he subverted the English folksong tradition by refusing to accept previous definitions of what constituted national loyalty. Drawing on letters and diaries, and featuring a number of previously unpublished photographs, this book illuminates aspects of Britten's songs from the personal perspective of the pianist who worked closely with Peter Pears after Benjamin Britten was unable to perform through illness. Johnson worked with Pears on learning the role of Aschenbach in "Death in Venice" and was official pianist for the first master class given by Peter Pears at Snape in 1972 [Publisher description]

The port of Miami brings in millions of dollars worth of cocaine every year, and The Cartel controls eighty percent of it. The Diamond family is a force to be reckoned with, but all hell breaks loose when they lose their leader. The most ruthless gangster Miami has ever seen, Carter Diamond leaves behind a wife, twin sons, a daughter, and a secret. The secret is his illegitimate son, Carter Jones. When Young Carter learns of his father’s death, he comes to town and is introduced to the legacy of The Cartel. Miamor is a woman who uses her beauty to enhance her skill as a contract killer. She is the leader of The Murder Mamas. When her crew is hired to take down The Cartel, they get caught slipping, and Miamor loses her sister in the process. She is determined to get revenge from The Cartel. Unknowingly, she meets the son of Carter Diamond, and he immediately catches her heart. She is sleeping with the enemy, and when she finds out, she is torn between love and revenge. Young Carter and Miamor lead two different lifestyles. They are on opposing teams, and when their worlds collide, the truth will be unveiled in an unpredictable ending.

Graham Johnson was a fresh-faced journalist who dreamed of breaking the big news stories and making his name as a star reporter when an offer came in to work at a leading tabloid ... he couldn't say no. Instantly, he found himself drawn into a world of sleaze and corruption -- where bending the law was justifiable in the hunt for a story and bending the truth was the norm. Against his better judgement, Graham found his niche in this new world and, what's more, he found that he was good at it. In his time at the News of the World and then the Sunday Mirror, he became known as a man who could deliver the story, no matter what -- a tabloid terrorist willing to file through celebrities' bins, stake out politicians' hotel rooms, and buy-up page three girls, all in the name of scoring a front-page story. This is the compelling and intoxicating true story of one man's time in the tabloid jungle of sex, sleaze and secret tape recordings, and how he ultimately saved himself.

"A French Song Companion is a guide to French song. 150 composers and 700 song translations make this the handbook both for the seasoned enthusiast, and the newcomer to this repertory. Graham Johnson brings his experience to the biographical commentaries, and Richard Stokes, renowned for his translations of German Lieder, provides line-by-line translations of some of the greatest poems ever set to music."--Jacket.