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Book SynopsisJimi Hendrix called Earl Hooker ""the master of the wah-wah pedal."" Buddy Guy slept with one of Hooker's slides beneath his pillow hoping to tap some of the elder bluesman's power. And B. B. King has said repeatedly that, for his money, Hooker was the best guitar player he ever met. Tragically, Earl Hooker died of tuberculosis in 1970 when he was on the verge of international success just as the Blues Revival of the late sixties and early seventies was reaching full volume.Second cousin to now-famous bluesman John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker was born in Mississippi in 1929, and reared in black South Side Chicago where his parents settled in 1930. From the late 1940s on, he was recognized as the most creative electric blues guitarist of his generation. He was a ""musician's musician,"" defining the art of blues slide guitar and playing in sessions and shows with blues greats Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, and B. B. King. A favorite of black club and neighborhood bar audiences in the Midwest, and a seasoned entertainer in the rural states of the Deep South, Hooker spent over twenty-five years of his short existence burning up U.S. highways, making brilliant appearances wherever he played.Until the last year of his life, Hooker had only a few singles on obscure labels to show for all the hard work. The situation changed in his last few months when his following expanded dramatically. Droves of young whites were seeking American blues tunes and causing a blues album boom. When he died, his star's rise was extinguished. Known primarily as a guitarist rather than a vocalist, Hooker did not leave a songbook for his biographer to mine. Only his peers remained to praise his talent and pass on his legend. ""Earl Hooker's life may tell us a lot about the blues,"" biographer Sebastian Danchin says, ""but it also tells us a great deal about his milieu. This book documents the culture of the ghetto through the example of a central character, someone who is to be regarded as a catalyst of the characteristic traits of his community."" Like the tales of so many other unheralded talents among bluesmen, Earl Hooker, Blues Master, Hooker's life story, has all the elements of a great blues song--late nights, long roads, poverty, trouble, and a soul-felt pining for what could have been.

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Book SynopsisWho on the planet doesn't know that Elvis Presley gave electrifying performances and enthralled millions? Who doesn't know that he was the King of Rock 'n' Roll? But who knows that the King himself lived in the thrall of one dominant person?This was Gladys Smith Presley, his protective, indulgent, beloved mother.Elvis and Gladys, one of the best researched and most acclaimed books on Elvis's early life, reconstructs the extraordinary role Gladys played in her son's formative years. Uncovering facts not seen by other biographers, Elvis and Gladys reconstructs for the first time the history of the mother and son's devoted relationship and reveals new information about Elvis--his Cherokee ancestry, his boyhood obsession with comic books, and his early compulsion to rescue his family from poverty.Coming to life in the compelling narrative is the poignant story of a unique boy and the maternal tie that bound him. It is at once an intimate psychological portrait of a tragic relationship and a mesmerizing tale of the early years of an international idol.""For once, a legend is presented to us by the mind and heart of a literate, careful biographer who cares,"" wrote Liz Smith in the New York Daily News when Elvis and Gladys was originally published in 1985. This is the book, Smith says, ""for any Elvis lover who wants to know more about what made Presley the man he was and the mama's boy he became.""The Boston Globe called this thoughtful, informative biography of one of popular music's most enduring stars ""nothing less than the best Elvis book yet.""

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Book SynopsisThe previously unpublished autobiography and additional essays by the orchestrator-composer of some of America's most important musical theatre productions. The remarkable career of composer-orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett [1894-1981] encompassed a wide variety of both "legitimate" and popular music-making in Hollywood, on Broadway, and for television. Bennett is principally responsible for what is known worldwide as the "Broadway sound" and for greatly elevating the status of the theater orchestrator. He worked alongside Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, and Frederick Loewe on much of the Broadway canon, eventually providing orchestrations for all or part of more than 300 musicals between 1920 and 1975. This work is the first publication of Bennett's autobiography, which was written in thelate 1970s. It also includes eight of his most important essays on the art of orchestration. George J. Ferencz is Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.Table of ContentsThe Bennett Family Tree Growing Up in Freeman To New York, 1916 To Paris, 1926 Rodgers and Hart in London To Hollywood, 1930 Hollywood Beckons Again Russell Bennett's Notebooks and Other Adventures in Network Radio Victory at Sea The Sound of Music Remembrances "The Bohemians" Eight Selected Essays by Robert Russell Bennett

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Book SynopsisThe first English translation of the correspondence between two composers and friends. Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht was a conductor and composer. His friendship with Claude Debussy began in 1911 (although they had met previously), and he soon became one of the Master's closest friends. This book is the first publication, in the original French and in English translation, of the correspondence between these two musicians. Beginning rather formally in 1912, with the salutation "Mon cher Inghelbrecht," the correspondence soon became much moreintimate, with Debussy addressing Inghelbrecht as "Mon cher ami" or "Cher Inghel." Although Debussy had a reputation for being cold and distant and for avoiding strangers, this was just his way of maintaining his privacy. This aloofness enabled him to express in private the warmth he felt toward those few close friends whose intimacy he needed and cherished. Inghelbrecht was in the forefront of this group. Their friendship was based not only on a mutual respect for each other's talents as artists and musicians, but also on the sharing of intimate secrets and warm feelings. Inghelbrecht's wife would later write that her husband retained the mark Debussy left on him. "For him, he was a beacon, a guide. And he had the deep joy of being able, up until his last days, to bring to life with passion, with all his talent-the works of a man who had been for a few years his friend." Margaret G. Cobb, the"doyenne of Debussy scholars," brings to life these two talented men. She enriches Richard Miller's idiomatic translation of the letters with copious notes and wonderful illustrations to illuminate a great musical friendship. Margaret G. Cobb is also the author of The Poetic Debussy, available from the University of Rochester Press. In 2002 she was awarded the title of Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government'sMinistère de la Culture et de la Communication.Trade ReviewA wonderful book, one that will be welcomed by everyone interested in French modernist music. The richness of the lives that unfold from the pages of these letters is engrossing, and the translation is superb. Margaret Cobb's meticulous work on Debussy has long been deeply admired by her devotees, and this book adds so much to our understanding of an enigmatic composer and of one of his close collaborators. -- -- Carolyn Abbate (Princeton University), author of Voices: Opera and Musical Narrative in the Nineteenth Century .The friendship recounted in this book is one that echoes in the legendary Debussy recordings of the 1950s and 1960s conducted by D. E. Inghelbrecht. Among the many endearing glimpses here of two strong artistic personalities is their shared love of Musorgsky and Chabrier, and a telling blend of wit with uncompromising artistic aims. This is a book to put an extra spring into our playing of Debussy. -- -- Roy Howat, pianist, author of Debussy in Perspective: A Musical Analysis , and Editorial Board member of the Oeuvres Complètes de Claude Debussy .Elegant and easily accessible. . . . By 1914 [the composer-conductor Inghelbrecht] had become the recipient of some of Debussy's wonderful revelations, such as the Jacques-Émile Blanche portrait showing him like 'a cream cheese that has had too many late nights' [p. 47]. . . . Beautifully produced and illustrated, and should be owned by all who love Debussy. -- Robert Orledge * MUSIC AND LETTERS *Table of ContentsList of Letters List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments D.E. Inghelbrecht: A Biography Letters from Debussy to Inghelbrecht Appendix A: Letter from Inghelbrecht to Debussy Appendix B: Letters from Inghelbrecht to d'Annunzio Appendix C: Letters from Chouchou Debussy to Inghelbrecht Biographies Bibliography Discography Index

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Book SynopsisLetters I Never Mailed: Clues to a Life, by Alec Wilder, in a new, annotated edition with introduction and supplementary material by David Demsey, foreword by jazz pianist Marian McPartland, and photographs by Louis Ouzer. Letters I Never Mailed: Clues to a Life, by Alec Wilder, in a new, annotated edition with introduction and supplementary material by David Demsey, foreword by jazz pianist Marian McPartland, and photographs by Louis Ouzer. Alec Wilder is a rare example of a composer who established a reputation both as a prolific composer of concertos, sonatas, and operas, and as a popular songwriter [including the hit "I'll Be Around"]. He was fearsomely articulate and had a wide and varied circle of friends ranging from Graham Greene to Frank Sinatra and Stan Getz. Letters I Never Mailed, hailed at its first publication [in 1975, by Little, Brown], tells the story of Wilder's musical and personal life through unsent "letters" addressed to various friends. In it, he shares his insights -- and sometimes salty opinions -- on composing, musical life, and the tension between art and commercialism. Thisnew, scholarly edition leaves Wilder's original text intact but decodes the mysteries of the original through an annotated index that identifies the letters' addressees, a biographical essay by David Demsey, and photographs by renowned photographer and lifelong friend of Wilder, Louis Ouzer. David Demsey is Professor of Music and coordinator of jazz studies at William Paterson University and an active jazz and classical saxophonist. He is co-author of Alec Wilder: A Bio-Bibliography [Greenwood Press] and has contributed to The Oxford Companion to Jazz.Trade Review[This] is an excellent book that may well rekindle a broader interest in the composer, a Rochester icon. . . . The letters in Letters I Never Mailed were, of course, a literary device. Wilder hated writing about himself and used supposed correspondence as a way to discuss his life obliquely. For that reason, Demsey's introductory biography is helpful since it clarifies details that Wilder often left deliberately vague. The new edition includes one other welcome addition, the photos of Wilder's dearest friend, Lou Ouzer, the famed Eastman photographer. DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE, Dec. 2005 [John Pitcher] In Letters I Never Mailed: Clues to a Life, Alec Wilder wanted to reveal himself, but not entirely. And so he left unidentified the individuals to whom many of the letters were written. The detective work of David Demsey gives us a much better understanding of the enigma that was Alec Wilder. -- -- Marian McPartland, renowned jazz pianist, recording artist, and host for over 25 years of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz (National Public Radio)Alec Wilder was one of the great composers of modern times. He wrote a suite for me with concert band. Nobody could play the last movement. When I asked him about all the difficult notes in my part, he said, 'That's what you would have played if you had improvised!' In this new edition, David Demsey has been responsible for allowing people to understand some of Alec's equally mysterious letters, helping readers to better know one of my favorite people. -- -- Jazz Trumpeter Clark TerryThis memoir is as odd, curmudgeonly, imaginative, funny, and charming as its author, who was one of the glorious eccentrics of American music. First published in 1975, five years before Wilder's death, it has now been annotated by David Demsey, who has managed to identify almost everyone addressed by Wilder. * WHOLENOTE *Table of ContentsForeword by Marian McPartland Preface to the Annotated Edition by David Demsey Introduction to the Annotated Edition: A Brief Wilder Biography by David Demsey Letters I Never Mailed Annotated Addressee List Selected Compositions by Alec Wilder Selected Discography Selected Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA new, deeply researched biography of the great French organist, who composed some of the best-loved works in the organ repertory -- and the masterful Requiem. Maurice Duruflé: The Man and His Music is a new biography of the great French organist and composer (1902-86), and the most comprehensive in any language. James E. Frazier traces Duruflé's musical training, his studies withTournemire and Vierne, and his career as an organist, church musician, composer, recitalist, Conservatoire professor, and orchestral musician. Frazier also examines the career and contributions of Duruflé's wife, the formidable organist Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier. Duruflé brought the church's unique language of plainsong into a compelling liaison with the secular harmonies of the modern French school (as typified by Debussy, Ravel, and Dukas)in works for his own instrument and in his widely loved masterpiece, the Requiem Op. 9 for soloists, chorus, organ, and orchestra. Drawing on the accounts of those who knew Duruflé personally as well as on Frazier's own detailed research, Maurice Duruflé offers a broad sketch of this modest and elusive man, widely recognized today for having created some of the greatest works in the organ repertory -- and the masterful Requiem. James E. Frazier holds advanced degrees in philosophy, organ, theology, and sacred music from St. Alphonsus College, Mt. St. Alphonsus Seminary, Hartt School of Music, the Yale University Divinity School, and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He served Episcopal churches in Hartford, Connecticut, and St. Paul, Minnesota, as organist and director of music. For ten years he was director of music for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.Trade ReviewA mine of information . . . a veritable tale of our times. -- Andrew Thomson * MUSICAL TIMES *Provides significant insight into Duruflé's works and the relatively secretive life he and his wife led. . . . Frazier's research is excellent. . . . An important contribution. -- Brian Doherty * CHOICE *Frazier's exploration of arabesque in architecture and music and his treatment of musical luminosity are memorably insightful and reveal a thoughtful understanding of Duruflé's work. . . . An interesting and well-constructed view of Duruflé's world, and a highly informative text as well. -- Steven Plank * CHOIR & ORGAN *A work of unprecedented scope and depth, . . . [Frazier's book] is a biography abundantly rich in detail; though it declines the tone of a hagiography, it is obviously a labor of love. . . . Frazier skillfully illuminates the contexts in which Duruflé's life unfolded . . . [and] Frazier's survey of Duruflé's compositions is particularly strong. . . . A special pleasure of the book is the chapter on [Duruflé's future wife, and a world-renowned organist,] Marie-Madeleine Chevalier . . . Frazier's book will no doubt stand as a defining work in Duruflé scholarship and nurture scholars of 20th-century French organ music for years to come. -- Lawrence Archbold * AMERICAN ORGANIST *One of the best musical biographies I have read for many years: sound in musical and, for the most part, in historical judgment . . . , sympathetic without being sycophantic, and most gracefully written. Duruflé deserves no less. -- Roger Nichols * GRAMOPHONE *[Frazier] sees Duruflé as a compelling figure, given over to the same foibles and doubts we all have. Frazier's ability to obtain primary sources lends credence to his observations. This is a superb work, one to be valued by music historians and organists alike. -- Donald Metz * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *This substantial study . . . although sympathetic . . . is not a work of hagiography. . . .[The author argues that] the somewhat short-lived revival of Gregorian chant in the French church . . . [during] Duruflé's composing life was a happy coincidence from which music was the main beneficiary [notably through the widely beloved Requiem]. . . . The very considerable value of this book lies in its personal evaluation of a man whose personality is likely to remain something of a mystery but whose music has already transcended his life. -- Bret Johnson * TEMPO *Table of ContentsDuruflé's Childhood and Early Education Life at the Cathedral Choir School Lessons with Charles Tournemire Lessons with Louis Vierne The Conservatoire Student Duruflé's Distinctions The Contested Successions at Notre-Dame and Sainte Clotilde Duruflé's Peforming Career The Orchestral Musician The Poulenc Organ Concerto Professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatoire Marie-Madeleine Chevalier Overview of Duruflé's Compositions Duruflé's Compositions: Their Genesis and First Performance Duruflé's Role in the Plainsong Revival The Vichy Commissions The Requiem The Musical History of Saint Étienne-du-Mont The Organs at Saint Étienne-du-Mont Duruflé as Organist and Teacher Duruflé and Organ Design The Church in Transition The North American Tours The Man Duruflé

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Book SynopsisA celebration of Sinatra's enduring impact on American entertainment and cultural life. For nearly sixty years, Frank Sinatra [1915-98] triumphed in concert, in the recording studio, on television, and on the big screen, refashioning his image to suit the temper of the times. Sinatra did it "his way," remaining bothelusive and alluring, and appealing to men and women alike. This collection analyzes the qualities that ensured Sinatra's staying power: his impeccable musicality, his charisma, his tough-mindedness, and even his peccadilloes. The contributors to this volume evaluate Sinatra's impact on all areas of entertainment, and examine many of the cultural forces he influenced and was influenced by, including Bing Crosby, Elvis, the "Beats," the Beatles, and Rock 'n' Roll. What emerges is a portrait of an artist, entertainment icon, and legendary symbol of popular culture. This appreciation of the Sinatra phenomenon celebrates his enduring impact on American entertainment and cultural life. Contributors: Blaine Allan, Samuel L. Chell, David Finck, Joseph Fioravanti Jeanne Fuchs, Philip Furia, Roger Gilbert, Ruth Prigozy, Walter Raubicheck, Lisa Jo Sagolla, Ron Simon, Arnold Jay Smith, James F. Smith, Patric M. Verrone, David Wild Jeanne Fuchs is Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature and Languages at Hofstra University; Ruth Prigozy is Professor of English at Hofstra University.Trade ReviewThe breadth of topics, discussed with concision, makes this book surprisingly brisk reading for those wanting to revisit quickly a number of aspects of Sinatra's career. * RONSLATE.COM, March 11, 2008 *A long-awaited collection of essays gathered from a famed 1998 conference at Hofstra University . . . probes various aspects of Sinatra's influence in his long career. . . . David Finck and Samuel L. Chell dissect Sinatra's vocal artistry in two succinct and exceptionally precise pieces in this collection. -- Benjamin Schwarz * ATLANTIC MONTHLY, June/July 2007 *It is doubtful that there will be another book dedicated so heavily to the nuts and bolts of what went into being Frank Sinatra.! -- Robert W. Rice * SING OUT! March 2008 *A kaleidoscopic view of a multi-faceted man, this compendium benefits greatly from its various viewpoints and offers fresh insight into the Sinatra legend. -- -- Michael FeinsteinFrom musical phrasing to comic strips, this compact but wide-ranging book marks a new stage in an emerging field that must now be called 'Sinatra Studies.' The variety of perspectives and topics has something to offer everyone who listens to, watches, and thinks about American popular culture. -- -- Jeffrey Magee, Associate Professor of Musicology, University of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignTable of ContentsThe Musical Skills of Frank Sinatra - David Finck Frank Sinatra's Artistry and the Question of Phrasing - Kathryn Crosby Hanging on a String of Dreams: Delirium and Discontent in Sinatra's Love Songs - Joseph Fioravanti Jazzin' Sinatra: Three "Understated" Arrangers: George Siravo, Johnny Mandel, and Quincy Jones - Arnold Jay Smith They Can't Take That Away from Me: Frank Sinatra and His Curious but Close Relationship with the Rock and Roll GenerationGeneration - David Wild Dick Haymes: Sinatra Stand-In or the Real Thing? - Ruth Prigozy Singing in the Moment: Sinatra and the Culture of the Fifties - Roger Gilbert Frank Sinatra Meets the Beats - Blaine Allan Sinatra in (Lyrical) Drag - Philip Furia Sinatra Meets Television: A Search for Identity in Fifties America - Ronald C. Simon Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley: The Taming of Teen Idols and The Timex Show - James F. Smith Frank Sinatra: Dancer - Jeanne Fuchs Dancing to Sinatra: The Partnership of Music and Movement in Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite - Lisa Jo Sagolla From Sam Spade to Tony Rome: Bogart's Influence on Sinatra's Film Career - Walter Raubicheck Sinatra Satire: Fifty Years of Punch Lines - Patric M. Verrone

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Book SynopsisCollection of critical and analytical scholarly essays on the music of Ravel by prominent scholars. Unmasking Ravel: New Perspectives on the Music fills a unique place in Ravel studies by combining critical interpretation and analytical focus. From the premiere of his works up to the present, Ravel has been associated with masks and the related notions of artifice and imposture. This has led scholars to perceive a lack of depth in his music and, consequently, to discourage investigation of his musical language. This volume balances and interweavesthese modes of inquiry. Part 1, "Orientations and Influences," illuminates the sometimes contradictory aesthetic, biographical, and literary strands comprising Ravel's artistry and our understanding of it. Part 2, "Analytical Case Studies," engages representative works from Ravel's major genres using a variety of methodologies, focusing on structural process and his complex relation to stylistic convention. Part 3, "Interdisciplinary Studies," integratesmusical analysis and art criticism, semiotics, and psychoanalysis in creating novel methodologies. Contributors include prominent scholars of Ravel's and fin-de-siècle music: Elliott Antokoletz, Gurminder Bhogal, Sigrun B. Heinzelmann, Volker Helbing, Steven Huebner, Peter Kaminsky, Barbara Kelly, David Korevaar, Daphne Leong, Michael Puri, and Lauri Suurpää. Peter Kaminsky is Professor of Music at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.Trade ReviewSuccessful . . . for the variety, depth and novelty of its analyses, but also for the way it quietly invites readers to imagine a very different place for Ravel in the canon than the one he currently occupies. Compelling and intricate analyses abound in Unmasking Ravel. -- Jessie Fillerup * JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION *Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, [Barbara Kelly] reveals how early tensions regarding Ravel's fame softened into mutual respect, especially from members of Les Six. . . . [Gurminder Bhogal extends] her ground-breaking research on the French arabesque [in] nuanced analyses. . . . Kaminsky and his colleagues are to be commended for moving us closer to understanding what makes [Ravel's] oeuvre so rich and alluring. FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE [Keith E. Clifton] Compelling new approaches to Ravel's music. Gives the reader insight into what makes Ravel's music the way it is -- its sources of influence and inspiration, its engagement with traditional norms, its setting of text, and its reception. [Helbing's chapter is] memorable. . . .[That by Leong and Korevaar is] illuminating. -- Claire Sher Ling Eng, Full review at http://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.12.18.1/mto.12.18.1.eng.php * MUSIC THEORY ONLINE *A collection of exceptional creativity and innovation. . . . Provides exceptional insight into the complexity of Ravel's unique formal approaches. . . . A potent reminder of the power of biography and criticism, with implications beyond Ravel scholarship. -- Timothy B. Cochran * MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES *A superb, unique contribution to Ravel scholarship. . . Provide[s] both in-depth analysis and critical interpretation. SUMMING UP: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. -- R. Pitts * CHOICE *This substantial and authoritative work contains state-of-the-art contributions in both the critical-historical and theoretical-analytical spheres. --Arnold Whittall, Professor Emeritus, King's College, London; author of Romantic Music: A Concise History from Schubert to Sibelius and coauthor of Music Analysis: In Theory and Practice. * . *Table of ContentsRavel's Poetics: Literary Currents, Classical Takes - Steven Huebner Re-presenting Ravel: Artificiality and the Aesthetic of Imposture - Barbara L. Kelly Adorno's Ravel - Michael J. Puri Ravel's Approach to Formal Process: Comparisons and Contexts - Peter Kaminsky Repetition as Musical Motion in Ravel's Piano Writing - Daphne N. Leong and David Korevaar Playing with Models: Sonata Form in Ravel's String Quartet and Piano Trio - Sigrun Heinzelmann Spiral and Self-Destruction in Ravel's "La valse" - Volker Helbing Diatonic Expansion and Chromatic Compression in Maurice Ravel's Sonate pour violonet violoncelle - Elliott Antokoletz Deception, Reality, and Changes of Perspective in Two Songs from Histoires Naturelles - Lauri Suurpää Not Just a Pretty Surface: Ornament and Metric Complexity in Ravel's Piano Music - Gurminder K. Bhogal The Child on the Couch; or, Toward a (Psycho)Analysis of L'enfant et les sortilèges - Peter Kaminsky

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Book SynopsisBrings to light the life and work of one of France's most distinguished musicians in the most complete biography in any language of Charles-Marie Widor. Widor: A Life beyond the Toccata brings to light the life and work of one of France's most distinguished musicians in the most complete biography in any language of Charles-Marie Widor. He is considered one of the greatestorganists of his time, a prolific composer in nearly every genre, professor of organ and composition at the Paris Conservatory, academician and administrator at the Institute of France, journalist, conductor, music editor, scholar, correspondent, inspired visionary, and man of deep culture. An appendix constitutes the most complete listing ever compiled of Widor's oeuvre. Each work is dated as accurately as possible and includes the publisher, platenumber, dedicatee, and relevant commentary. Another appendix lists Widor's complete published writings, other than the scores of press reviews he penned over several decades. Widor: A Life beyond the Toccata illuminates the life and work of one of France's most distinguished yet neglected musicians of the belle époque. JOHN R. NEAR is Professor Emeritus of Music, Principia College.Trade ReviewA book to treasure. -- John Henderson * CHURCH MUSIC QUARTERLY *Invaluable. . . . In Near's genial, well-paced narrative, a portrait of a highly erudite and humorous man emerges -- Widor's intimate recollections of such luminaries as Rossini, Anton Rubinstein and Liszt fizz with vitality. . . . A rich source of contemporary material and . . . a lively picture of Parisian musical life from the 1860s to 1937. . . . Beautifully produced and designed. -- Jeremy Nicholas * GRAMOPHONE *Excellent translation. . . . A fruitful resource for scholars and Francophiles alike. * CHOICE *Eminently readable [with] photographs not to be found in the published sources. . . . A treasure chest. . . . The final word on the life of a truly great man. . . . A standard of reference and essential reading for all devotees of the French Romantic school. -- Harold Fabrikant * ORGAN AUSTRALIA *John R. Near has honoured his subject by combining powerfully muscular English prose with research so staggeringly comprehensive as to be what fashionable circles would call 'a game-changer.' . . . New insights aplenty. . . . A pleasure to read and to own. -- R. J. Stove Complete review reprinted at http://www.rjstove.net/articles/Widor-Organ_Salisbury.pdf * THE ORGAN *The definitive work about the composer of one of the two most famous organ pieces in the world [the Toccata from Organ Symphony No. 5]. John Near struck pay dirt when he located a 103-page manuscript of an unpublished 'Souvenirs Autobiographiques' [that] allows Widor to speak for himself and allows his biographer many opportunities to elucidate those events. Absolutely indispensable! -- Rollin Smith * THE AMERICAN ORGANIST *John Near -- editor of the critical edition of Widor's ten organ symphonies -- is unquestionably the authority on the organist-composer. In this book he gives us an encyclopedic memoir, containing many new details about Widor's life and work. Without any doubt this biography will remain the definitive resource in the organ world and beyond. * . *Daniel Roth, Organiste-titulaire du grand orgue de l'Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris * . *The documentation is wonderfully rich -- would that we had something comparable for earlier composers. . . . A major achievement. . . . A wealth of revealing information. -- Peter Williams * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *Detailed, richly documented account of Widor's long and fascinating life. . . Definitive. * MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION *Table of ContentsForeword by Kurt Lueders Preface Introduction: "Sunday Morning in a Paris Organ Loft," by T. Carl Whitmer Widor's Ancestry, Musical Education, and Heritage (1844-63) The First Creative Period (1864-79) The Years of Mastery (1880-94) The Twilight of Widor's Compositional Career (1895-1909) Mr. Widor, Member of the Institute of France (1910-37) Appendix One: Published Literary Works Appendix Two: List of Musical Works Appendix Three: A Cross-Section of Musicians during Widor's Life Appendix Four: Chronology

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Book SynopsisExamines the impact of contemporary ideas about the psyche and neglected yet crucial artistic influences on the psychological dimension of Wagner's operas, especially Die Feen, Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and the Ring. Wagner's Visions studies crucial influences on Wagner's dramatic style during the years before and just after the failed Dresden revolutionary uprising of 1849. Offering a detailed examination of Die Feen, Wagner's least-known complete opera, together with analysis of Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and the four Ring dramas, Katherine Syer explores the inner experiences of Wagner's protagonists. Sources ofparticular political significance include the fables of the eighteenth-century Venetian playwright Carlo Gozzi, the Iphigenia operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck, and the legacy of the martyr Theodor Körner, whose poetry became the lingua franca of the revolutionary movement to liberate and unify Germany. Syer's book offers fresh insights into the historical context that gave rise to Wagner's dramatic art, revealing how his distinct and powerful imagery is intimately bound up with the crises and instabilities of his era. Katherine R. Syer is associate professor of theatre and musicology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Trade ReviewAn insightful analysis of Wagner's operas, which displays a profound understanding of the deep structure of operas and is impressive in its ability to draw together a wide variety of different phenomena. Not least because of the extremely skillful handling of language that leads to vivid and concise descriptions of both artworks and their historical and cultural environments, it is an enjoyable read. * MUSIC & LETTERS *Seldom, if ever, has Wagner's music been written about in such a lyrically beautiful way, with such penetrating insights. * WAGNERSPECTRUM *Accomplished and absorbing. . . . One of the strongest recent contributions to Wagner studies. * MUSICAL TIMES *Just when you think that scholarship has covered every angle of Wagner's work, along comes an author with yet another way of looking at it. In this wide-ranging study . . . [a]n impressive aspect of Syer's analysis is the frequency and skill with which she peels off the textual layers of Wagner's creations -- the revised accounts, different prose sketches, libretto revisions, staging comments etc. [This, along with the emphasis on live performance,] ensures Wagner's Visions a place among the most significant Wagner books of the decade. * WAGNER JOURNAL *Well-written narrative. With her unique insight into the early works, Syer sheds new light on the complex psychological elements of their characters and the creative strategies that set the political tone for the later works. Recommended [for] upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *Syer's new study is a major contribution to the scholarship on the first half of Wagner's career; let us hope that a study of the second half is forthcoming. * WAGNER NOTES *[A]n outstanding book on Wagner's literary roots in fairy tale, German Hellenism, and German patriotic Romanticism. Syer also brings further illumination to the phenomenon of psychological drama in Wagner's stage works, showing how these three-pronged roots played a role in the formation of Wagner's dramatic -- even fantastical -- protopsychology. This excellent contribution places Syer firmly among the leading Wagner scholars of her generation. -- -- Bryan Gilliam, Duke UniversityTable of ContentsTo Be Born in Leipzig in 1813 Fairytale Madness: Wagner and Gozzi Senta the Somnambulist Opposing Worlds: Tannhäuser and Lohengrin Hunding's Horns, Wotan's Storms, Sieglinde's Nightmare Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFirst English-language study of Anton Heiller (1923-1979), one of the twentieth-century's most influential organists Anton Heiller is one of the twentieth century's most renowned and influential organists. Born in 1923, Heiller was trained in Vienna and rose to prominence quickly, giving his first solo recital at the age of twenty-two. Before concentrating on the organ exclusively, he was a successful conductor of the symphonic repertoire, and, from 1945 until his untimely death in 1979, he was professor of organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.His interpretations of Bach, which included registration and articulation, as well as a consideration of the theological underpinnings, would change the way Bach is played. Anton Heiller: Organist, Composer, Conductorprovides an assessment of Heiller's works and teaching, while also examining his complex personality, one torn between strong religious devotion and the world of artistry. The narrative also offers a unique view of the organ worldin the decades after World War II, featuring the important organs, builders, and organists across North America and Europe. Peter Planyavsky was Anton Heiller's successor as an organ professor in Vienna, and organist of St. Stephan's Cathedral in Vienna from 1969 through 2004. He is also a prolific composer, improviser, and conductor. Christa Rumsey, a former student of Heiller's, translated the book from the original German.Trade ReviewHistory has already recognized Anton Heiller as a significant figure in 20th-century music, probably the most influential organist of his time. . . .Through his genius and personal charisma, he achieved what others could not: he brought the organ into the mainstream of music where it belongs. Planyavsky's biography delivers this message, while giving a complete picture of Heiller's life and work. . . . Belongs in the personal library of any serious organist. Through this book a great organist continues to interest and also to teach later generations of organists. A comparison . . . demonstrates not only an accurate but sensitive treatment of the original [German text]. * THE AMERICAN ORGANIST *The biographical chapters make . . . fascinating reading . . . [No chapter] is more gripping than the chapter devoted to 'Haarlem and the Rest of Europe.' . . . Christa Rumsey has done a sterling service for English-speaking readers by her elegant translation of an important book. -- Bruce Steele * ORGAN AUSTRALIA *A remarkable book [about] one of the greats of the mid-twentieth century. Packed with facts and stories. Christa Rumsey's excellent, flowing translation [is] a pleasure to read. * SYDNEY ORGAN JOURNAL *The text flows effortlessly. . . . The story is vibrant and gives extremely good insight into life between World War II and 1979 in Austria and life in Vienna in particular. Of interest to any interested in organ music and, in particular, developments in the early to mid-twentieth century. * ORGAN MUSIC SOCIETY OF ADELAIDE NEWSLETTER *Peter Planyavsky's book accomplishes a difficult task: that of doing justice to the life of a monumental musician. Planyavsky, himself an organist of international prominence, avoids the pitfall of presenting Heiller as primarily an organist, instead presenting a compelling picture of Heiller as the complete musician, giving ample room to a discussion of his career as a conductor as well as to a discussion of his many compositions. The result is a comprehensive and engaging account of a person who was a dominant figure in European musical culture for several decades of the twentieth century and whose influence was felt far beyond the circle of the Viennese musical scene. -- -- William Porter, Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester)Table of ContentsVery Early, Very Fast, Very Steep Beginning in the Golden West: Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Switzerland Haarlem and the Rest of Europe Heiller and America Short Midday, Long Sunset All the Registers of a Soul Compositions before ca. 1956 Compositions after ca. 1956 What He Thought, How He Played Appendix: Organ Specifications Chronology Notes List of Compositions Discography Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects

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Book SynopsisThis collection of letters to and from the eminent harpsichordist, scholar, and early-music pioneer Ralph Kirkpatrick provides a portrait of the musician from the beginning of his career in Paris in the 1930s to its end in the early 1980s. This collection of letters to and from the eminent harpsichordist, scholar, and early-music pioneer Ralph Kirkpatrick provides a portrait of the musician from the beginning of his career in Paris in the 1930s to its end in the early 1980s, offering new insights into his work and scholarship. The volume contains letters from Europe to his family as well as correspondence with harpsichord makers, performers, and composers, including Nadia Boulanger, Alexander Schneider, John Kirkpatrick, Elliott Carter, Henry Cowell, John Challis, Kenneth Gilbert, Serge Koussevitzky, and Vincent Persichetti. In addition, two former students of Kirkpatrick, the guitarist Eliot Fisk and the harpsichordist Mark Kroll, write about their experiences studying with Kirkpatrick in a foreword and an afterword. The volume also includes a bibliography of publications by and about the musician, as well as a discography. MeredithKirkpatrick is a librarian and bibliographer at Boston University and is the niece of Ralph Kirkpatrick.Trade ReviewFascinating, behind-the-scenes details. Provides much biographical insight. The photographs . . . are an excellent addition. Kirkpatrick's letters reveal a richness of detail that, while history from today's vantage point, shows the vibrancy of the musical world he inhabited less than a century ago. * MLA NOTES *Offers fascinating insights into the life and work of a highly significant figure. The book, excellently edited and organised by Kirkpatrick's niece Meredith . . . is beautifully produced, containing many photographs of Kirkpatrick throughout his career, as well as others with whom he worked. . . . One of the most invigorating aspects of his letters is their directness; he pulls no punches...The range of subjects covered is vast, and the exchanges give every impression of being frank and honest. Kirkpatrick himself always wrote courteously, but stated his views trenchantly. . . . This book goes a long way to reaffirming Kirkpatrick's seminal role in our present-day understanding of early keyboard music. . . . A significant publication that should be read by everyone with an interest in early keyboard music especially. . . . [The letters to harpsichord builder John Challis] are full of interesting insights and repay careful study. -- John Kitchen * EARLY MUSIC PERFORMER *Engrossing picture of a brilliant and passionate man working to establish a place for what he loved, against many handicaps, in a world that was barely ready. The correspondents include musical and artistic luminaries of the age, such as Nadia Boulanger, Serge Koussevitzky, Roger Sessions, Elliott Carter, [and] Thornton Wilder. * EARLY MUSIC AMERICA *Goes a long way toward fleshing out our knowledge about one of the most prominent and respected figures in the 20th-century American harpsichord revival. Important correspondence with American composers Roger Sessions, Elliott Carter, Otto Luening, Quincy Porter, Vincent Persichetti, Henry Cowell, and Mel Powell, as well as Europeans Frank Martin and Bengt Hambraeus. Carefully selected and annotated. -- Larry Palmer * DIAPASON *Scrupulously edited. Sympathetic yet honest appraisals by Mark Kroll and guitarist Eliot Fisk bookend a fascinating document that chronicles not just a life lived through scholarship and performance, but also a revolution that was profoundly indebted to Kirkpatrick in how we experience the music of the past. Letters to family . . . prove the most vivid. * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *Table of ContentsForeword: "The Glowing of Such Fire" -- A Tribute to Ralph Kirkpatrick - Eliot Fisk Acknowledgments Introduction Selected Letters to Family Nadia Boulanger Alexander Mackay-Smith Wanda Landowska John Challis Serge Koussevitzky Oliver Strunk Roger Sessions Harold Spivacke Steinway & Sons New York Times Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge John Kirkpatrick Alexander Schneider Otto Luening Donald Boalch John Hamilton Thornton Wilder Lincoln Kirstein Arthur Mendel Edward Steuremann Frank Martin Olin Downes Albert Fuller Elliott Carter Quincy Porter Vincent Persichetti Henry Cowell Mel Powell Bengt Hambraeus Alec Hodson Paul Fromm Wolfgang Zuckermann Kenneth Gilbert Mr. and Mrs. George Young Colin Tilney Oliver Daniel Eliot Fisk Wilton Dillon William Dowd Meredith Kirkpatrick Afterword: Lessons with Kirkpatrick - Mark Kroll Appendix A: Publications by and about Ralph Kirkpatrick Appendix B: Ralph Kirkpatrick Discography Index

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Book SynopsisRevealing unpublished interviews with John Cage and some of his closest colleagues, including Virgil Thomson, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pauline Oliveros, Merce Cunningham, and David Tudor. John Cage, one of America's most renowned composers from the 1940s until his death in 1992, was also a much-admired writer and artist, and a uniquely attractive personality able to present his ideas engagingly wherever he went. In CageTalk: Dialogues with and about John Cage, Peter Dickinson showcases a collection of vividly revealing and unpublished interviews given by Cage in the late 1980s for a BBC Radio 3 documentary. For this paperback edition, Dickinson presents a new preface noting developments in Cage criticism since the book's publication in 2006, updated comments from several of the original interviewees, and a new interview with Christian Wolff. CageTalk also features earlier BBC interviews with Cage, including ones by renowned literary critic Frank Kermode and art critic David Sylvester. In addition, there are discussions of Cage with Bonnie Bird, Earle Brown, Merce Cunningham,Minna Lederman, Otto Luening, Jackson Mac Low, Peadar Mercier, Pauline Oliveros, John Rockwell, Kurt Schwertsik, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Virgil Thomson, David Tudor, LaMonte Young, and Paul Zukovsky. Most of these interviews weregiven to Peter Dickinson but there are others in which with Rebecca Boyle, Anthony Cheevers, Michael Oliver, and Roger Smalley were the interviewers. Peter Dickinson, British composer and pianist, is Emeritus Professor,University of Keele and University of London, and has written or edited several books about twentieth-century music, including Copland Connotations [Boydell Press, 2002] and The Music of Lennox Berkeley [Boydell Press, 2003].Trade ReviewForeWord Magazine selected this title as one of its top music books from University Presses for 2006. * . *Ideal introduction to Cage. * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *The first-hand accounts related by Cage's colleagues offer new insights and a palpable vibrancy. . . . A sense of intimacy and richness of anecdotal detail. . . . Merit[s] study by all with an interest in the composer. -- Charles Madsen * BULLETIN OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC *We hear Cage in his own words, in conversations conducted between 1966 and 1988, and put in the context of interviews with close colleagues such as pianist David Tudor, choreographer Merce Cunningham and fellow composers including Earle Brown and Virgil Thomson. . . . Dickinson's approach to collecting these interviews is methodical and fastidious. . . . [His] introductory chapter is . . . cogent. -- Philip Clark * GRAMOPHONE *This book is no eulogy compendium. Instead, the interviewees simply give us what we would all prefer to have, which is a diverse set of instructive, good-humoured accounts of their dealings with the book's subject. . . . Informative and entertaining -- often amusing: Stockhausen's thinly-veiled tetchiness makes for a diverting subtext, while Virgil Thomson refers to Cage's former wife Xenia as 'the Eskimo.' Technically, too, this book is a success, with its comprehensive references, its proper indexing and, joy of joys, footnotes . . . on the page you're actually on. A valuable and enjoyable read which I unreservedly recommend. Five stars (out of five). -- Roger Thomas * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *A lively compilation of dialogues with and about Cage . . . [opening with Dickinson's] useful introductory overview.. . . [Cage's] influence burns brighter than ever. -- Fiona Maddocks * THE SPECTATOR *Essential reading for anyone interested in the music of our time. * WHOLENOTE *Cage's engaging manner radiates from these pages. . . . CageTalk is excellent, leaving one with feelings of affection toward its subject. -- John Robert Brown * CLASSICAL MUSIC *A real treasure house of fascinating exchanges. . . . An entertaining perspective on [Cage's] inventive and imaginative world of sound, visual imagery and movement. -- Patrick Standford * MUSIC AND VISION DAILY *Recommended to all music libraries, [and] specialists concerned with...[Cage's] enduring work. -- Brett Boutwell * JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC *Table of ContentsIntroduction by Peter Dickinson John Cage Merce Cunningham Bonnie Bird David Tudor Jackson Mac Low Minna Lederman Virgil Thomson Otto Luening Karlheinz Stockhausen Earle Brown Kurt Schwertsik La Monte Young John Rockwell Pauline Oliveros Paul Zukofsky Cage with David Sylvester and Roger Smalley Cage with Frank Kermode Cage with Michael Oliver About Musicircus, Cage with Peter Dickinson Introducing Roaratorio, Cage, Cunningham, and Peadar Mercier with Peter Dickinson Europeras and After, Cage with Anthony Cheevers

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Book SynopsisThis book reveals Czech composer Bedrich Smetana as a dynamic figure whose mythology has been rewritten time and again to suit shifting political perspectives. Interpretations of Czech composer Bedrich Smetana and his music have shifted as frequently as the political contexts in which they were written. This book examines not just Smetana, but also the scholar-politicians who have imagined and reimagined him and his works since the nineteenth century. During the 1870s, Smetana helped found a powerful nationalist organization called the Umelecká beseda ("Artistic Society," or UB), whose members produced the earliest scholarship on the composer as part of their calls for political action. Within the increasingly radicalized discourses of the twentieth century, individuals including future Minister of Culture and Education Zdenek Nejedlý attacked the UB for not being nationalistic enough, producing their own revisionist histories of Smetana and his works. Kelly St. Pierre investigates Smetana as both nationalist composer and national symbol, revealing the composer'slegacy as a dynamic figure whose mythology has been rewritten time and time again to suit changing political perspectives. Kelly St. Pierre is assistant professor of musicology at Wichita State University.Trade ReviewAn important book [that] investigates the creation of a collection of 'Smetana myths,' and the manner in which the composer's career and its reception were molded by a complex set of forces. Some of the most fascinating aspects of St. Pierre's book involve the sections dealing with the attempt on the part of various interlocutors to ascribe 'meaning' to specific moments of instrumental music. -- Michael Beckerman * SLAVIC REVIEW *St. Pierre brings together a wide range of published sources, such as articles and edited correspondence in translation (mostly her own). Particularly intriguing is [her] perspective on music history (and its making) as media history. The monograph's structure and appearance are impeccable, and its name index will serve as an essential companion for every future study on Smetana. * MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES *St. Pierre's book will need to be consulted by anyone interested in the subject. It is lucidly constructed and well written, and has been well served by Rochester Press [sic] in its editing of her prose . . . [and] is especially valuable in the lively details it gives of the Umelecká beseda and its members. * SLAVONIC AND EAST EUROPEAN REVIEW *A sorely needed and welcome foray not only into scholarship on the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, but also into questions of composer biography and the role of propaganda in Central European nationalist movements...a valuable resource for scholars of European history and Czech music. * EUROPEAN HISTORY QUARTERLY *Kelly St. Pierre's concentrated and highly researched new study . . . closely examines the complex and politically controversial genesis of [Czech composer Smetana's] music, and its huge eventual significance in establishing a strong and clear national identity for that small if fiercely patriotic country contained within the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian Empire. St. Pierre has done well to cut a path through the forests of obscurantism generated by these ever-changing political perspectives, leading to a clearer picture of Smetana and his actual achievements. MUSICAL TIMES * MUSICAL TIMES *A significant work of scholarship, Kelly St. Pierre's Bedrich Smetana: Myth, Music, and Propaganda fills an obvious and important gap in the literature of musical politics in Prague from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the end of the First Republic. With an excellent and thorough consideration of both Czech and English sources, including the most recent publications, this book will be indispensable for scholars and enthusiasts of Czech music, as well as scholars, students, and devotees of late nineteenth-century European cultural and intellectual history. -- -- Derek Katz, author of Janácek beyond the BordersTable of ContentsIntroduction Smetana Advocacy and Czech Nation-Building Smetana, Czechness, and the New German School Smetana, Czechness, and Wagner Smetana as a Proven Genius Writing the Smetana Myth: Historiography and Czechness Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisExamines the remarkable career of leading soprano castrato Venanzio Rauzzini (1746-1810), the first castrato to make Britain his home. Venanzio Rauzzini (1746-1810), the celebrated Italian castrato, is best known for his performance in Mozart's Lucio Silla in 1772, with which Mozart was so pleased that he composed for the singer the famous motet Exsultate Jubilate. In 1774, Rauzzini moved to London where he performed three seasons of serious operas at the King's Theatre. From 1777 until his death in 1810, he was the director of the concert series in Bath, a series that matched the prestige of any that were given in London. In addition, he composed prolifically, writing music for eleven operas. This book is a study of Rauzzini's remarkable yet often overlooked career in Britain. Paul Rice chronicles Rauzzini's performances at the King's Theatre and examines his leadership of the Bath subscription concerts from 1780-1810, recovering much of the repertory. Rice shows in detail how Rauzzini responded musically to the social and political conditions of his adopted country, and analyzes the castrato's reception, as well as compositional choices, shedding new light on changing musical tastes in late eighteenth-century Britain. Paul F. Rice is Professor of Musicology at the School of Music, Memorial University of Newfoundland.Trade Review[Venanzio Rauzzini] was an intrepid survivor in a world that held Italians, and particularly Italian castrati, as highly suspect. Paul Rice has brought together a great deal of biographical detail about Rauzzini's life. He has made it possible for us easily to flesh-out the headline facts that are presented in the Grove and Oxford articles and the work of other authors. [Musical] extracts and analyses...give us an impression of Rauzzini's own evolving vocal abilities and those of his singers. The author seems to have left no stone unturned in seeking out his subject. -- Andrew Pink * BRIO *The scope of [Rauzzini's] influence enables Rice to...use Rauzzini's career as a focal point in a broader examination of social and cultural life in Brain, and specifically London and Bath. [Rice] attempts to glean information about the character of his sound, not only from contemporary descriptions but also from the music written for him by Mozart and Sacchini. Rice manages his materials admirably, and there is much here to interest scholars of eighteenth-century music, particularly those interested in concert culture and the practicalities of singers' lives. An engaging portrait of a man who left a considerable legacy across many areas of musical life. -- Chloe Valenti * AD PARNASSUM *Fascinating insights concerning Rauzzini's compositional techniques and the characteristics of the arias he wrote for himself. The musical analysis undertaken in the book, illustrated with a large number of music examples, reveals Rauzzini's accomplished compositional style for the different technical demands of domestic music-making. . . Broaden[s] the common picture of the virtuoso opera singer and demonstrate[s] his expertise in different fields and his acceptance at the heart of Britain's social and cultural life. -- Ingeborg Zechner * MUSIC & LETTERS *Rauzzini is unique among castratos for having spent more than half his life in England. Rice is the first to tackle in detail the whole of Rauzzini's professional life across the 36 years the singer spent in England. The programmes for these concerts give a fascinating picture of changing tastes. Rauzzini was a canny director, endeavouring to engage the best soloists. Rice provides a generous quantity of music examples that demonstrate Rauzzini's mastery of the galant style. A rich resource. -- Patricia Howard * MUSICAL TIMES *Table of ContentsPreface Rauzzini's European Career A Debut Season at the King's Theatre, 1774-75 Two Further Seasons at the King's Theatre, 1775-77 Concerts and Composing, 1774-81 A Continuing Relationship with the King's Theatre A Life in Bath The Bath Concerts Final Curtain Appendix A: Concert Programs, 1786-1810 Appendix B: Operatic Roles Performed by Venanzio Rauzzini Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisUp-close and personal views, by the renowned music critic and orchestra administrator, of musical luminaries from Alfred Brendel to Jessye Norman and beyond. Star Turns and Cameo Appearances is the entertaining and insightful memoir by veteran music critic Bernard Jacobson. Its pages are populated by eminent composers ranging from Hans Werner Henze to Andrzej Panufnik and by renowned performers, including Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Sviatoslav Richter, and Jessye Norman. As a music critic and orchestra administrator, Jacobson has had the opportunity to observe these outstanding musicians andmany of their colleagues at close quarters. Assisting Riccardo Muti at the Philadelphia Orchestra for eight years, he saw sides of that maestro not visible to the music-loving public. Throughout Star Turns and Cameo Performances, Jacobson adds his own sensitive and sympathetic view to public perceptions of musical luminaries of yesterday and today, helping to explain and illuminate their artistry. Bernard Jacobson has worked in the music field for over fifty years, including stints as recording executive, music critic of the Chicago Daily News, artistic director and adviser for international orchestras in Holland, and visiting professor at Roosevelt University's Chicago Musical College. He has also performed and recorded as narrator of concert works and opera.Trade ReviewWill appeal to many different music professionals as well as a number of music-lovers. Without exception, Jacobson's remarks show knowledge and heart beautifully combined, the writing eloquent and perceptive. Star Turns and Cameo Appearances offers an intimate and rewarding look at one of the most distinguished music professionals of the 20th century and, perhaps more important, one for whom new music and the classics generally held equal value. -- Rob Haskins * ARSC JOURNAL *I have admired and continue to admire the great musical culture of Bernard Jacobson, whom I have known since my time in Philadelphia in the 1980s. His deep understanding of the world of the arts and his wit and elegant writing make Star Turns particularly interesting and charming. -- -- Riccardo Muti, conductor, music director, Chicago Symphony Orchestra[This] remarkable memoir is a musical journey from the perspective of a writer, music critic, music publisher, and a man who has been intimately involved with the classical music world. His extraordinary life's work, knowledge, and integrity have been a great inspiration to me, and this beautifully written memoir now affords others a window into his lifelong devotion to and love of music on the deepest level. -- -- Gerard Schwarz, conductor and composerAn extraordinarily vivid and intriguing glimpse of the humans inside the classical music giants, of the last fifty years -- an invaluable and rare account from a man who's heard it all. -- -- Roxanna Panufnik, composerBernard Jacobson has been one of the most illuminating writers about classical music over the past decades, a critical intelligence to reckon with -- the sort of critic (all too rare) with whom performers can engage in fruitful dialogue. His memoirs of a life in music are fascinating stuff. -- -- Ian Bostridge, tenorA fascinating tour through the classical music world from the 1960s to today. Jacobson has worked with and has stories to tell about most of the major and minor figures of music in England and America of the last fifty years. His analysis of Riccardo Muti as a man, a conductor, and a leader is worth the whole book. It's an involving book, and I feel privileged to have read it. -- -- Speight Jenkins, general director, 1983-2014, Seattle OperaTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments "Till Ready," to 1960 Inside the Record Industry, 1960-64 Freelance in London and New York, 1964-67 Chicago Years, 1967-73 Exchanging Criticizing for Supporting, 1973-76 The Pastoral Dream, 1976-79 Inside Music Publishing, 1979-84 Philadelphia, First Installment, 1984-91 Back to Holland, 1992-95 Philadelphia, Second Installment, 1996-2005 West Coast Years, 2005-14 Philadelphia, Yet Again, 2014-? Afterword Index

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Book SynopsisPresents previously unpublished memoirs (1933-77), lectures, and essays by the eminent harpsichordist and scholar Ralph Kirkpatrick. This collection of unpublished writings by the eminent harpsichordist and scholar Ralph Kirkpatrick contains his memoirs for the period 1933-77 as well as essays on a variety of topics, including his preparation for the first performance of Elliott Carter's Double Concerto, thoughts on editing Bach's Goldberg Variations, and reflections on recording, chamber music, performance, and harpsichords and their transport. The volume also contains five lectures from a Yale University lecture series presented between 1969 and 1971, a bibliography of publications by and about Kirkpatrick, a discography of his recordings, and a foreword by former Kirkpatrick student and renowned organist William Porter. Meredith Kirkpatrick, the niece of Ralph Kirkpatrick, is a librarian and bibliographer at Boston University and the editor of Ralph Kirkpatrick: Letters of the American Harpsichordist and Scholar (University of Rochester Press, 2014).Trade ReviewThe career of [harpsichordist] Kirkpatrick took place during a major developmental stage in the history of the harpsichord. Extremely enjoyable to read. Excellently produced and laid out on the page. * REVUE BELGE DE MUSICOLOGIE *[A]n exciting read not only for harpsichordists, but also for anyone interested in early music and the history of old keyboard instruments. * SZABÓ ERVIN LIBRARY MUSIC COLLECTION *His depth of thought, and skill in articulating his musical philosophy never disappoints, and I would buy the book if only for his outstandingly good essay, entitled 'The Performer's Pilgrimage to the Sources'...A writer who could evoke time and place with memorable clarity. * SOUNDING BOARD *Offers valuable insight into... the [early music] movement as well as considerable enjoyment along the way. * THE CONSORT *The writing style is elegant and captivating, often sprinkled with touches of humor. The pages...devoted to Scarlatti are particularly rich. * REVUE DE MUSICOLOGIE *[A] new and rich collection of writings by . . . Ralph Kirkpatrick (1911-1984). . . one of the principal shapers of the twentieth-century movement to return historical instruments to the practical uses of musical life. * AD PARNASSUM *[P]resents another pathway to understanding the stellar contributions of the most influential American harpsichordist of the mid-20th century after . Here is a book to treasure, and to share with fellow lovers of the harpsichord and its history. * DIAPASON *This special book is well made, beautiful to hold and captures this later period in the lifetime and place in history of this very eminent American musician and scholar. . . . Kirkpatrick's own Memoirs in this book have an elegant and engaging style of writing, displaying his erudite intelligence and charisma. . . . [His] Reflections . . . display the author's immense contribution and role in shaping music history. * FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE *Brilliant observations that apply to all fields of music. The fascinating writing itself is so elegant and polished. . . that the reader constantly wants to turn the pages. . . . Should be of interest to all lovers of keyboard instruments and the music written for them. * AMERICAN ORGANIST *Kirkpatrick's playing, at its best, is magnificent ... [This] entertaining and wittily written book ... [is] a beautiful complement to [Ralph Kirkpatrick: Letters of the American Harpsichordist and Scholar], which came out a few years ago. * OPUSKLASSIEK *Offers a fascinating view into the personality and worldview of Ralph Kirkpatrick. . . . The writing reveals scrupulous musical standards and a crunchy personality. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *Meredith Kirkpatrick has selected wisely and edited meticulously. We are offered many insights into the life of a concert harpsichordist at a time when such individuals were rare indeed. [Kirkpatrick's] prose style is always elegant, but he expresses himself directly and vigorously. * EARLY MUSIC PERFORMER *Opens a window onto much of 20th-century cultural history. . . . Essential reading for anyone interested in the harpsichord, scholarship, and musical style. * EARLY MUSIC AMERICA *[From] a musician who was widely admired as one of the finest harpsichordists of his day [comes] this collection of memoirs, essays and lectures, all previously unpublished and edited sensitively by Kirkpatrick's niece...[The memoirs are] pleasingly anecdotal. * GRAMOPHONE *[A welcome new book of writings by] the trailblazing American harpsichordist...Humour and waspish observations gild memoir and polemic alike. Many of the issues pondered with characteristic clarity are no less relevant fifty years on...(Four stars, and Editor's Choice) * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *Table of ContentsIntroduction Memoirs, 1933-77 On Performing On Recording On Chamber Music On Harpsichords and Their Transport Elliott Carter's Double Concerto (ca. 1973) On Editing Bach's Goldberg Variations: For Arthur Mendel (March 31, 1973) RK and Music at JE (1983) The Equipment and Education of a Musician (1971) Bach and Mozart for Violin and Harpsichord (ca. 1944) The Early Piano (Broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Music Weekly, September 23, 1973) Bach and Keyboard Instruments In Search of Scarlatti's Harpsichord Style in Performance The Performer's Pilgrimage to the Sources Private Virtue and Public Vice in the Performance of "Early Music" Appendix A: Personal Names in the Text Appendix B: Publications by and about Ralph Kirkpatrick Appendix C: Ralph Kirkpatrick Discography

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Book SynopsisCombines fresh approaches to the life and music of the beloved nineteenth-century composer with the latest and most significant ways of thinking about rhythm, meter, and musical time. Brahms and the Shaping of Time brings together essays by leading music scholars, each of which analyzes the music of Brahms with a particular focus on the music's temporality. The volume reveals numerous ways in which Brahms manipulates such basic elements as rhythm and phrase structure in pieces ranging from the Third Piano Sonata and the Double Concerto to a number of his most important and beloved songs. The first two essays examine aspects of rhythm and meter in Brahms's lieder, recognizing his meaningful deviations from temporal norms. The second two pick up the mantle from William Rothstein's landmark text Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music. Rothstein's study focused on the music of other composers, but suggested how a future study might explore the music of Brahms; these essays contribute to such a study while also pivoting the book's focus from vocal to instrumental music. Each of the chapters of the third pair cross-examines and expands our understanding of the hemiola. The concluding trio of essays promotes, through further analysis of individual works, ways of hearing that encourage the reader to breach the confines of the score's metric notation. Together, the essays in this volume offer fresh approaches to the life and music of the beloved nineteenth-century composer and incorporate significant new ways of thinking about rhythm, meter, and musical time. CONTRIBUTORS: Eytan Agmon, Richard Cohn, Harald Krebs, Ryan McClelland, Jan Miyake, Scott Murphy, Samuel Ng, Heather Platt, Frank Samarotto Scott Murphy is professorof music theory at the University of Kansas.Trade ReviewWINNER of the 2019 Outstanding Multi-Author Collection Award from the Society for Music Theory * . *Table of ContentsForeword: Brahms, Analysis, and Time Expressive Declamation in the Songs of Johannes Brahms Temporal Disruptions and Shifting Levels of Discourse in Brahms's Lieder Phrase Rhythm and the Expression of Longing in Brahms's "Gestillte Sehnsucht," Op. 91, No. 1 On the Oddness of Brahms's Five-Measure Phrases Hemiola as Agent of Metric Resolution in the Music of Brahms Brahms at Twenty: Hemiolic Varietals and Metric Malleability in an Early Sonata Containment and Wave: Temporal Experiment in Brahms's Opus 2 Rhythmic Displacement in the Fugue of Brahms's Handel Variations: The Refashioning of a Traditional Device Durational Enharmonicism and the Opening of Brahms's "Double Concerto"

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Book SynopsisA new and wide-ranging collection of essays by leading international scholars, exploring the concept and practices of virtuosity in Franz Liszt and his contemporaries. In the annals of music history, few figures have dominated the discussion of virtuosity as much as Franz Liszt. A flamboyant performer whose hair-raising technical feats at the piano created a sense of awe-inspiring excitement andan icon whose star power radiated far beyond the realm of music, Liszt was, along with his early model, Paganini, among the first major performer-composers to define himself principally by virtuosity. Featuring new essays by an international group of preeminent scholars, Liszt and Virtuosity offers a reevaluation of the concept and practices of virtuosity as shaped and defined in Liszt's multifaceted oeuvre, as well as a reconsiderationof Liszt's relation to other major and lesser-known musical figures, including Czerny, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, and Marie Jaëll. Set in the context of larger trends within the fields of music history, musicanalysis, intellectual history, and performance studies, these capacious explorations demonstrate that Liszt's uniqueness and significance resided in his ability to transform virtuosity into a revolutionary musical force, pushingthe piano aesthetic to the limits of sound and poetic meaning.Trade ReviewThe book brings together these insights by the world's most important Liszt's scholars and performers. [...] [This book] deepen[s] our understanding of the concept of virtuosity and of different approaches [and] re-evaluates virtuosity, specifically its given definitions and practices, through Liszt's own understanding in connection to his contemporaries -- NINETEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC REVIEWSThis splendid volume dispels any lingering prejudices against nineteenth-century piano virtuosity and especially against Franz Liszt--often suspected of practicing a musical dark art. By casting new light on Liszt's singular virtuosity in essays on his instruments, technique, and teaching through to his revolutionary compositional aesthetic, the internationally distinguished authorship aspires to a level of understanding no less transformational than the work of the spectacular figure at center stage. * John Rink, Professor of Musical Performance Studies, University of Cambridge *There is a lot to think about in this volume. It is dense and rich, well researched, and thoughtful. Perhaps it is virtuosic in its own way, with its apparent casual command of fine detail. This is the kind of collection where single lines might spark new scholarship. * MUSIC & LETTERS *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Virtuosity and Liszt - Robert Doran Part One: Liszt, Virtuosity, and Performance Après une lecture de Czerny?: Liszt's Creative Virtuosity - Kenneth Hamilton Transforming Virtuosity: Liszt and Nineteenth-Century Pianos - Olivia Sham Spirit and Mechanism: Liszt's Early Piano Technique and Teaching - Nicolas Dufetel Paths through the Lisztian Ossia - Jonathan Kregor Brahms "versus" Liszt: The Internalization of Virtuosity - David Keep Part Two: Lisztian Virtuosity: Theoretical Approaches The Practice of Pianism: Virtuosity and Oral History - Jim Samson Liszt's Symbiosis: The Question of Virtuosity and the Concerto Arrangement of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy - Jonathan Dunsby From the Brilliant Style to the Bravura Style: Reconceptualizing Lisztian Virtuosity - Robert Doran Part Three: Virtuosity and Anti-Virtuosity in "Late Liszt" Harmony, Gesture, and Virtuosity in Liszt's Revisions: Shaping the Affective Journeys of the Cypress Pieces from Années de pèlerinage III - Dolores Pesce Anti-Virtuosity and Musical Experimentalism: Liszt, Marie Jaëll, Debussy, and Others - Ralph P. Locke Virtuosity in Liszt's Late Piano Works - Shay Loya

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Book SynopsisThe first collection ever of essays and reviews by the renowned pedagogue, composer, and conductor, providing fresh perspectives on her musical influence and impact. The impact of Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) on twentieth-century music was vast: as composer, keyboard performer, conductor, impresario, and pedagogue. Her extensive musical networks included figures such as Fauré, Stravinsky, and Poulenc, and her advocacy helped establish the compositions of her sister Lili Boulanger. Few today realize, though, that Boulanger wrote numerous essays and reviews at various times in her career. These offer unparalleled insight into her thinking and illuminate aspects of musical culture in Europe and America from the rare point of view of an internationally prominent female artist. Nadia Boulanger: Thoughts on Music provides a translation and critical edition of selected writings chosen for their quality and interest. The previously published articles and essays have never been reissued since their original appearance; the remaining materials are presented to readers here for the first time. The volume renders all these materials widely available, providing an important new resource for teaching and scholarship on twentieth-century music as well as an engaging collection of musical essays for the general reader.Table of ContentsIntroduction PART 1: JOURNALISM, CRITICISM, TRIBUTES Le Monde Musical, 1919-1927 Other critical writing, 1913-1929 "La musique religieuse," La Revue musicale (1922) "L'oeuvre théâtrale d'Albert Roussel," La Revue musicale (1929) Spectateur, 1946-1947 Tributes, 1924-1978 PART 2: LECTURES, CLASSES, AND BROADCASTS Course transcripts Lectures and speeches Broadcasts Thinking at the Close "Propos impromptus: Nadia Boulanger" Le Courrier musical (1978) Bibliography of Nadia Boulanger's published writing General Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFor forty years, singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn has been writing beautifully evocative music. Bestselling author and respected theologian Brian Walsh has followed Cockburn's work for years and has written and spoken often on his art. In this creative theological and cultural engagement, Walsh reveals the imaginative depth and uncompromising honesty of the artist's Christian spirituality. Cockburn offers hope in the midst of doubt, struggle, failure, and anger; indeed, the sentiment of "kicking at the darkness" is at the heart of his spirituality. This book engages the rich imagery of Cockburn's lyrics as a catalyst for shaping and igniting a renewed Christian imagination.Table of Contents1. God, Friendship, and Art2. Ecstatic Wonderings and Dangerous Kicking: Imagination and Method3. Cockburn's Windows: Getting a Big Picture4. Creation Dream5. At Home in the Darkness, but Hungry for Dawn6. Creation Dreams and Ecological Nightmares7. Into a World of Darkness8. Humans9. Broken Wheel10. Betrayal and Shame11. What Do You Do with the Darkness?12. Justice and Jesus13. Waiting for a MiracleDiscography

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Book SynopsisFrom a small mountain town in West Virginia, elder fiddler Melvin Wine has influenced musicians and music enthusiasts far beyond his homeplace. Music, community, and tradition permeate all aspects of life in this rural region. Fiddling Way Out Yonder: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine shows how in Wine's playing and teaching all three have created a vital and enduring legacy. As a musician, Wine has been honored nationally for his musical skills and his leadership role in an American musical tradition. A farmer, a coal miner, a father of ten children, and a deeply religious man, he has played music influenced by the hard lessons of his own experience and shaped a musical tradition even while passing it on to others. Fiddling Way Out Yonder examines the fiddler, his music, and its context from a variety of perspectives. Many rousing fiddlers came from isolated mountain regions like Wine's home stomp. The book makes a point to address the broad historical issues related both to North American fiddling and to Wine's personal history. Wine (b.1 909) has spent almost all of his life in rural Braxton County, an area where the fiddle and dance traditions that were strong during his childhood and early adult life continue to be active today. Utilizing models from folklore studies and ethnomusicology, Fiddling Way Out Yonder discusses how community life and educational environment have affected Wine's music and his approaches to performance. Such a unique fiddler deserves close stylistic scrutiny. The book reveals Wine's particular tunings, his ways of holding the instrument, his licks, his bowing techniques and patterns, his tune categories, and his favorite keys. The book includes transcriptions and analyses of ten of Wine's tunes, some of which are linked to minstrelsy, ballad singing traditions, and gospel music. Narratives discuss the background of each tune and how it has fit into Wine's life. This biography heralds a musician who wants both to communicate the spirit of his mountains and to sway an audience into having an old-fashioned good time. Drew Beisswenger is a music librarian at Southwest Missouri State University.

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Book SynopsisFor fifty years, the music, words, story, and fans of Bob Dylan have fascinated David Gaines. As a son, a husband, a father, a teacher, and a passionate lover of the literary in all its guises, he has pursued the poetic fusion of knowledge and emotion all his life. More often than not, Dylan’s lyrics and music have expressed that fusion for him, and so he has encouraged others to acknowledge the musician or writer or painter or director or actor or athlete who matters deeply (perhaps a bit mysteriously) to them, and to deploy that enigmatic passion in service of selfknowledge and social connection. After all, one of the central reasons to be a fan is to compare notes, explore mysteries, and riff with fellow fans in a community of exploration.Gaines’s personal journey toward creating such communities of passionate knowledge encompasses his own coming of age and marriages, fatherhood, and teaching. As a devoted fan who is also a professor of American literature, questions about teaching and learning are central to his experience. When asked, “Why Dylan?” he says, “He’s the writer I care about the most. He’s been the way into the best and longest running conversations I have ever had.” Talking with students, exchanging Dylan trivia with fellow fans, or cheering on fanmusicians doing Dylan covers during the Dylan Days festival, Gaines shows that, for many people, being a fan of popular culture couples serious critical and creative engagement with heartfelt commitment. Here, largely unheralded, the ideal of liberal education is realized every day.Trade Review“A life within a life. David Gaines’s portrait of one of our great artists is at once an appreciation, an assimilation, and a stirring memoir of a very fine writer so very deeply touched by another.”—T. C. Boyle, author, The Harder They Come “For decades of his well-lived life, David Gaines has found Bob Dylan’s music an excellent companion and a bountiful inspiration for study. He’s now a reputable citizen of that motley place called Dylan Town, and he proves a fine guide for us fellow villagers and newcomers, too.”—Nina Goss, author, Dylan at Play “This engaging book is an intelligent fan’s examination of the object of his fandom—Bob Dylan—of Dylan fandom overall, and of fandom’s nature. It is also a memoir of a life of university teaching about American culture, and an important scrutiny of learning and of modern America.”—Michael Gray, author, The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia

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Book SynopsisAcross all imaginable borders, Johnny Cash fans show the appeal of a thoroughly American performer who simultaneously inspires people worldwide. A young Norwegian shows off his Johnny Cash tattoo. A Canadian vlogger sings 'I Walk the Line' to camel herders in Egypt's White Desert. A shopkeeper in Northern Ireland plays Cash as his constant soundtrack. A Dutchwoman coordinates the activities of Cash fans worldwide and is subsequently offered the privilege of sleeping in Johnny's bedroom. And on a more global scale, millions of people watch Cash's videos online, then express themselves through commentary and debate.In Johnny Cash International, Hinds and Silverman examine digital and real-world fan communities and the individuals who comprise them, profiling their relationships to Cash and each other. Studying Johnny Cash's international fans and their love for the man reveals new insights about music, fandom, and the United States.

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Book SynopsisNashville native Drew Bratcher writes musically about memory and memorably about music in uncommonly beautiful essays that announce the arrival of a major new voice. The title essay, a requiem in fragments, tells the story of a grandfather through his ear, comb, hands, El Camino, and clothes. Bratcher delivers a tough and moving tribute to a man who “went on ahead, on up the road, and then the road turned.” Elsewhere, Bratcher directs his attention to Johnny Cash’s looming presence over his childhood, the relative pain of red paper wasp stings, Dolly Parton’s generative homesickness, the humiliations and consolations of becoming a new father, the experience of hearing his name in a Taylor Swift song, and the mystifying hymns treasured by both his great grandmother and D. H. Lawrence. Seamlessly blending memoir and arts criticism and aiming at both the heart and the head, this is a book about listening closely to stories and songs, about leaving home in order to find home, and about how the melodies and memories absorbed along the way become “a living music that advances and prevails upon us at formative moments, corralling chaos into the simple, liberating stockade of verse, chorus, verse.”

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Book SynopsisWhen Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966) was ""rediscovered"" by blues revivalists in 1963, his musicianship and recordings transformed popular notions of prewar country blues. At seventy-one he moved to Washington, D.C., from Avalon, Mississippi, and became a live-wire connection to a powerful, authentic past. His intricate and lively style made him the most sought after musician among the many talents the revival brought to light.Mississippi John Hurt provides this legendary creator's life story for the first time. Biographer Philip Ratcliffe traces Hurt's roots to the moment his mother Mary Jane McCain and his father Isom Hurt were freed from slavery. Anecdotes from Hurt's childhood and teenage years include the destiny-making moment when his mother purchased his first guitar for $1.50 when he was only nine years old. Stories from his neighbors and friends, from both of his wives, and from his extended family round out the community picture of Avalon. U.S. census records, Hurt's first marriage record in 1916, images of his first autographed LP record, and excerpts from personal letters written in his own hand provide treasures for fans. Ratcliffe details Hurt's musical influences and the origins of his style and repertoire. The author also relates numerous stories from the time of his success, drawing on published sources and many hours of interviews with people who knew Hurt well, including the late Jerry Ricks, Pat Sky, Stefan Grossman and Max Ochs, Dick Spottswood, and the late Mike Stewart. In addition, some of the last photographs taken of the legendary musician are featured for the first time in Mississippi John Hurt.

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Book SynopsisWhen George Jones recorded ""He Stopped Loving Her Today"" more than thirty years ago, he was a walking disaster. Twin addictions to drugs and alcohol had him drinking Jim Beam by the case and snorting cocaine as long as he was awake. Before it was over, Jones would be bankrupt, homeless, and an unwilling patient at an Alabama mental institution. In the midst of all this chaos, legendary producer Billy Sherrill-the man who discovered Tammy Wynette and cowrote ""Stand by Your Man""-would somehow coax the performance of a lifetime out of the mercurial Jones. The result was a country masterpiece.He Stopped Loving Her Today, the story behind the making of the song often voted the best country song ever by both critics and fans, offers an overview of country music's origins and a search for the music's elusive Holy Grail: authenticity. The schizoid bottom line-even though country music is undeniably a branch of the make believe world of show biz, to fans and scholars alike, authenticity remains the ultimate measure of the music's power.

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Book SynopsisWilbur C. Sweatman (1882-1961) is one of the most important, yet unheralded, African American musicians involved in the transition of ragtime into jazz in the early twentieth century. In That's Got 'Em!, Mark Berresford tracks this energetic pioneer over a seven-decade career. His talent transformed every genre of black music before the advent of rock and roll--""pickaninny"" bands, minstrelsy, circus sideshows, vaudeville (both black and white), night clubs, and cabarets. Sweatman was the first African American musician to be offered a long-term recording contract, and he dazzled listeners with jazz clarinet solos before the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's so-called ""first jazz records.""Sweatman toured the vaudeville circuit for over twenty years and presented African American music to white music lovers without resorting to the hitherto obligatory ""plantation"" costumes and blackface makeup. His bands were a fertile breeding ground of young jazz talent, featuring such future stars as Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, and Jimmie Lunceford. Sweatman subsequently played pioneering roles in radio and recording production. His high profile and sterling reputation in both the black and white entertainment communities made him a natural choice for administering the estate of Scott Joplin and other notable black performers and composers.That's Got 'Em! is the first full-length biography of this pivotal figure in black popular culture, providing a compelling account of his life and times.

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Book SynopsisWhen Elvis Presley first showed up at Sam Phillips's Memphis-based Sun Records studio, he was a shy teenager in search of a sound. Phillips invited a local guitarist named Scotty Moore to stand in. Scotty listened carefully to the young singer and immediately realized that Elvis had something special. Along with bass player Bill Black, the trio recorded an old blues number called ""That's All Right, Mama."" It turned out to be Elvis's first single and the defining record of his early style, with a trilling guitar hook that swirled country and blues together and minted a sound with unforgettable appeal. Its success launched a whirlwind of touring, radio appearances, and Elvis's first break into movies. Scotty was there every step of the way as both guitarist and manager, until Elvis's new manager, Colonel Tom Parker, pushed him out. Scotty and Elvis would not perform together again until the classic 1968 ""comeback"" television special. Scotty never saw Elvis after that.With both Bill Black and Elvis gone, Scotty Moore is the only one left to tell the story of how Elvis and Scotty transformed popular music and how Scotty created the sound that became a prototype for so many rock guitarists to follow. Thoroughly updated, this edition delivers guitarist Scotty Moore's story as never before

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Book SynopsisBorn in 1916 at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island, the teenaged Robert William Lane became obsessed with the singing and expressive yodeling of country music’s Jimmie Rodgers. By the 1940s, his obsession and subsequent focus on his own guitar playing, singing, and yodeling led him to achieve musical stardom as Tex Morton, master showman and influential progenitor of Australian country music. Tex Morton: From Australian Yodeler to International Showman offers the first full-length biography of this country music phenomenon from down under.“From the time he first left the security of his home and set out to discover the world, life was a continual journey for Tex Morton,” Smith writes in chapter 1. And it was: Beginning with Morton’s early life and chronicling his burgeoning career and ultimate stardom, Smith’s study showcases Morton’s multi-faceted creative endeavors over the years, from showman and sharpshooter to hypnotist and academic. His talents took him all over the world, from Australia and New Zealand and countries throughout Asia to the United States, Canada, and England. Smith’s carefully constructed narrative captures the nuance of a versatile yet driven, flawed yet talented figure who ultimately became both an influential country artist and an entertainer of international standing over the course of an almost fifty-year career.An important contribution to music history scholarship, this volume not only establishes Morton’s significance in the history of Australian country music, but it also draws deep connections between Morton’s Australasian influence and country music in the United States, exploring Morton’s legacy in the wider context of the genre worldwide. Complete with a comprehensive discography of Tex Morton’s works, Smith’s in-depth biography claims for Morton his rightful place as a major founding figure in the history of Australian country music.

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Book SynopsisIn the 1950s, as the leader of the Upsetters, the original backing band for rock pioneer Little Richard, Grady Gaines first exposed the music world to his unique brand of “honkin',” bombastic, attitude-drenched saxophone playing.In the years that followed, the Upsetters became the backing band for Sam Cooke and crisscrossed the country as the go-to-band for revue-style tours featuring James Brown, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Supremes, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, and Etta James.In I've Been Out There, the Houston blues and R&B legend Grady Gaines speaks candidly about his sixty-year music career and life on the road supporting some of the biggest names in blues, soul, and R&B. This annotated autobiographical account details Gaines's professional triumphs and personal sacrifices.The book contains anecdotes about life on the road and in the studio during a period when the entertainment industry was vastly different, affording readers a glimpse into the creative makeup of a man whose distinctive sax playing powered some of the most popular songs of the era, helped define the genre, and mesmerized countless audiences.

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Book SynopsisCorazón Abierto: Mexican American Voices in Texas Music provides a wide view of the myriad contributions Mexican American artists have made to music in Texas and the United States. Based on interviews with longtime stalwarts of Mexican American music - Flaco JimÉnez, Tish Hinojosa, Ernie Durawa, Rosie Flores, and others - and also conversations with newer voices like Lesly Reynaga, Marisa Rose Mejia, Josh Baca, and many more, Kathleen Hudson allows the musicians to tell their own stories in a unique and personal way. As the artists reveal in their free-ranging discussions with Hudson, their influences go far beyond traditionally Mexican genres like conjunto, norteÑo, and Tejano to extend into rock, jazz, country-western, zydeco, and many other styles.Hudson's survey also includes essays, poetry, and other creative works by Dagoberto Gilb, Sandra Cisneros, and others, but the core of the book consists of what she describes as 'a collection of voices from different locations in Texas....Some represent voices from the edge, while others give us a view from the center'. Weaving together a tapestry that combines 'family, borders, creativity, music, food, and community', the book presents an image as varied and difficult to define as the musicians themselves. By sharing the artists' accounts of their influences, their experiences, their family stories, and their musical and cultural journeys, CorazÓn Abierto reminds us that borders can be gateways, that differences enrich, rather than isolate.

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Book SynopsisBob Dylan is an iconic American artist, whose music and performances have long reflected different musical genres and time periods. His songs tell tales of the Civil War, harken back to 1930s labor struggles, and address racial violence at the height of the civil rights movement, helping listeners to think about history, and history making, in new ways. While Dylan was warned by his early mentor, Dave Van Ronk, that, "You're just going to be a history book writer if you do those things. An anachronism," the musician has continued to traffic in history and engage with a range of source material—ancient and modern—over the course of his career.In this beautifully crafted book, Freddy Cristóbal Domínguez makes a provocative case for Dylan as a historian, offering a deep consideration of the musician's historical influences and practices. Drawing on interviews, speeches, and the close analysis of lyrics and live performances, Bob Dylan in the Attic is the first book to consider Dylan's work from the point of view of historiography.Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 What Do You Mean You Can’t Repeat the Past?: Dylan’s Historical Universe CHAPTER 2“ Conjuring Up All These Long Dead Souls”: How Dylan “Does” History CHAPTER 3 “Sing in Me, Oh Muses”: Dylan as Mythmaker CHAPTER 4 “There’s Something Happening Here . . . Mr. Jones”: Interpreting Dylan Historically CHAPTER 5 “The Blood of the Land in My Voice”: Dylan’s Authorial Persona CONCLUSION Notes Index

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Book SynopsisAfter he died in the back seat of a Cadillac at the age of twenty-nine, Hank Williams—a frail, flawed man who had become country music’s first real star–instantly morphed into its first tragic martyr. Having hit the heights with simple songs of despair, depression and tainted love, he would become in death a template for the rock generation to follow. Mark Ribowsky weaves together the first fully realised biography of Williams in a generation. Examining his music while re-creating days and nights choked in booze and desperation, he traces the rise of this legend—from the dirt roads of Alabama to the immortal stage of the Grand Ole Opry and to a lonely end on New Year’s Day, 1953. This original work uncovers the real Hank beneath the myths that have long enshrouded his legacy.Trade Review"... Mark Ribowsky... has done a commendably thorough job." -- The Times"...Hank is a timely biography…" -- The New York Times Book Review"Many biographies have been written about him but none gives such detail of his drinking, sexual abandon and many misadventures as this." -- The Irish Times

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Book SynopsisArturo Toscanini (1867–1957) was famed for his dedication, photographic memory, explosive temper and impassioned performances. At times he dominated La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the Bayreuth, Salzburg and Lucerne festivals. His reforms influenced generations of musicians, and his opposition to Nazism and Fascism made him a model for artists of conscience. With unprecedented access to the conductor’s archives, Harvey Sachs has written a new biography positioning Toscanini’s musical career and sometimes scandalous life against the currents of history. Set in Italy, across Europe, the Americas and in Palestine, with portraits of Verdi, Puccini, Caruso, Mussolini and others, Toscanini soars in its exploration of genius, music and moral courage.Trade Review"'Monumental’ is surely the mot juste to describe the book’s length... but equally the combination of thoroughness, clarity, psychological perspicacity and deep human feeling which distinguishes every page... for all its massiveness the book proves unputdownable." -- BBC Music Magazine"Harvey Sachs has written the definitive biography of this great, and colourful, character... [His] writing style is precise, fluent and gripping... As a study of the life and times of one of the greatest conductors of all time, this book will not soon be bettered." -- The Economist"It is without doubt the most engaging, the best-written and certainly the most comprehensive Toscanini biography yet to be published..." -- Gramophone"... magnificent biography... To read about him [Toscanini] at this length—and there will surely be no need for another biography—is to be simultaneously inspired and bewildered." -- The Spectator"This book of more than 900 pages, full of personal recollections and testimony... is vastly comprehensive, balanced and indispensable... Sachs’ own dedication to this force of nature has been fulfilled in a book which ranks among the best of 2017." -- Classical Music"Drawing on a wide range of new evidence, including unknown letters and the archives of many of the opera houses that Arturo Toscanini worked with, including La Scala, Harvey Sachs has written a weighty and highly enjoyable account of one of the greatest conductors, a man still renowned for his pursuit of perfection." -- Books of the Year 2017 - The Economist"Harvey Sachs has provided a compendious chronicle of Toscanini's astonishing achievement across almost a century, and it makes for compelling reading." -- Times Literary Supplement"I am currently reading two excellent books: the new Harvey Sachs biography of one of the finest conductors of all time – Arturo Toscanini..." -- Something for the Weekend - Finghin Collins' Cultural Picks - RTÉ"Extraordinary... Indeed, I cannot think of another biography of a classical musician to which it can be compared: in its breadth, scope, and encyclopedic command of factual detail it reminds me of nothing so much as Robert A. Caro’s The Power Broker... Never before has [this] history been told so well." -- Tim Page - The New York Review of Books"A very engaging and at times gripping chronicle of music and society, all of it devoted to the unending drive and conscientiousness that made Toscanini’s performances so riveting—and, to some, so repellent... What comes through in Sachs’s long chronicle is the extent of Toscanini’s role, witting and unwitting, in transforming the way that classical music was produced and consumed in the twentieth century." -- David Denby - The New Yorker"Sachs’s account is persuasive and compelling in the important ways... Today, Toscanini is receding from our consciousness, notwithstanding his many records... Creative geniuses can survive for centuries, even millenniums; interpreters inevitably go over the cultural cliff. But that doesn’t detract from the crucial—the central—role Toscanini played in our musical culture for well over 60 years. Nor from the almost universal regard he was held in as a man." -- Robert Gottlieb - The New York Times Book Review"...marvellously researched and continually fascinating...[a] superb book... " -- Stephen Walsh - The Oldie

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Book SynopsisIn 1985, Mark Bryan heard Darius Rucker singing in a dorm shower at the University of South Carolina and asked him to form a band. For the next eight years, Hootie & the Blowfish—completed by bassist Dean Feldman and drummer Soni Sonefeld—played every frat house, roadhouse, and rock club in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, becoming one of the biggest independent acts in the region.In Only Wanna Be with You, Tim Sommer, the ultimate insider who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1993, pulls back the curtain on the band's indie days; the chart-topping success of their major-label debut, cracked rear view; the year of Hootie (1995); the lean years; Darius Rucker's history-making rise in country music; and one of the most remarkable comeback stories of the century. Featuring new and extensive interviews with the band members, some of the band's most famous fans, and stories from the recording studio, tour bus, and golf course, this book is essential reading for Hootie lovers and music buffs.

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Book SynopsisThe formative early ballets of West Side Story creators Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins explored in detail for the very first time. 2022 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner. Leonard Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins stand as giants of the musical-theatre world, but it was ballet that launched their stage careers and established their relationship. With Fancy Free (1944), their triumphant debut collaboration produced by Ballet Theatre, Bernstein, Robbins, and set designer Oliver Smith-all in their mid-twenties- captured the spirit of wartime New York, created a defining ballet of the period still widely performed today, and became overnight sensations. The hit musical On the Town (1944) and a now largely forgotten ballet, Facsimile (1946), followed over the next two years. Drawing extensively on previously unpublished archival documents, Bernstein and Robbins: The Early Ballets provides a richly detailed and original historical account of the creation, premiere, and reception of Fancy Free and Facsimile. It reveals the vital and sometimes conflicting role of Ballet Theatre, explores how Bernstein composed the scores, sheds light on the central importance of Oliver Smith, and considers the legacy of these works for all involved. The result is a new understanding of Bernstein, Robbins, and this formative period in their lives.Trade ReviewFor choreographers interested in commissioning scores for their dance pieces, the information contained in this book is very useful. -- Mark Kappel * NEWSNOTES DANCE BLOG *This very interesting book primarily relates the early partnership of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins. I enjoyed Redfern's...discussion of the staging and choreography of the various shows. The author wisely includes a discussion of Bernstein's ability to work quickly on theatrical assignments and Robbins's legendary rehearsal requirements, and how that affected their relationship. This book offers corrections to...prior information and presents the ballet information with enough detail to better appreciate the music and choreography. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *Sophie Redfern's new book on Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins provides a rich portrait of their collaborative relationship [and] the first in-depth, published analysis of their ballets. Her book adds many insights into the working relationship between these two influential figures. A fascinating narrative arc emerges. Redfern's book is important reading for scholars...who want to think more deeply about collaborative relationships between composers and choreographers. * STUDIES IN MUSICAL THEATRE *Sophie Redfern's groundbreaking and compelling new book offers a vivid account of the often high-octane collaboration between Leonard Bernstein and the choreographer Jerome Robbins-and to a lesser extent, the theatre designer Oliver Smith. . . . [A] manifestly important book that will undoubtedly establish itself as a classic text in the fields of both Bernstein and ballet studies, and which is distinguished throughout by its expert interweaving of historical narrative, source studies, music analysis, and criticism. -- Mervyn Cooke * MUSIC & LETTERS *Rich [archival] materials and Redfern's thorough analysis of Bernstein's music constructively articulate how each artist's individual contributions defined the futures of both ballet and musical theater in the United States...Some of the most compelling highlight Bernstein's adaptation of popular and Latin music into the classical French structure of ballet. Fancy Free's inclusion of defined character motifs, stacked ostinatos, tone rows, and rhythmic complexity would give American ballet a definitive form. * SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC BULLETIN *Table of ContentsIntroduction Setting the Scene: American Ballet and Jerome Robbins Towards a First Ballet: Fancy Free Takes Shape Creating Fancy Free: A Long-Distance Collaboration The Music of Fancy Free: The Sketches and Score Explored The Fancy Free Premiere and a Move to Broadway Towards a Second Ballet: Bye Bye Jackie and the Creation of Facsimile The Music of Facsimile: The Sketches and Score Explored The Facsimile Premiere and Legacy of the Ballets Epilogue: Bernstein and Dance Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis biography of Minna Planer, Richard Wagner's wife of 30 years, reveals her as a self-assured woman and artist who was vital to her husband's creative life. When Richard Wagner first met Minna Planer in 1834, he was an unknown conductor, she a popular actress. His hectic pursuit of her affections culminated in marriage in 1836. Minna endured poverty with him, nursed him through chronic illness, followed him across Europe as he fled from creditors and pursued his artistic goals, and sought to provide him with the stable domestic and erotic life that he craved. He played his works to her as he wrote them, up to Tannhäuser and Lohengrin, and set store by her opinions. But when he went on the run as a wanted revolutionary, Minna only reluctantly followed him into Swiss exile. Domestic peace tentatively prevailed, but was ultimately destroyed by Wagner's passion for Mathilde Wesendonck. In 1858, he and Minna separated, she returned home to Germany, and subsequent efforts at reconciliation proved ultimately impossible. They remained married, however, until Minna's death in 1866. Despite having been at Richard's side as he matured into the composer of the Ring and Tristan, Minna has been given short shrift by most Wagner commentators. In Eva Rieger's acclaimed biography, translated into English by Chris Walton, the author reveals Minna as a self-assured woman and artist who played a crucial role in the creative life of her husband.Trade ReviewFascinating, detailed, and absorbing. Chris Walton has done a superb job in creating the illusion that this volume was written in English. Detailed footnotes are included as well as a number of germane photographs. Marvelous to read and completely engrossing. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *Through Rieger's vivid and sometimes humorous presentation of Richard and Minna's daily life together, we discover an attractive and also tragic figure, courageous, highly adaptable and generous to the point of offering her last piece of bread to a hungry friend, even when she didn't know what her own next meal would be. -- Anna Stoll Knecht * The Wagner Journal *Table of ContentsIllustrations Abbreviations Notes on this translation Introduction: "He could not breathe without her" Chapter 1. "I have become her despot": From Love to Marriage Chapter 2. "Deprived of incipient motherhood": Riga, London, Paris, 1836-1842 Chapter 3. "Home for me is you alone": Dresden 1842-1847 Chapter 4. "My knucklehead of a husband": Revolution and Its Aftermath, 1848-1850 Chapter 5. "This ridiculous, amorous intrigue": The Jessie Laussot Affair, 1850-1851 Chapter 6. "That good, foolish man...": Exile in Zurich, 1852-1854 Chapter 7. "I'm a poor, stupid woman to have let you go...": Zurich and London, 1854-1856 Chapter 8. "Alas, now all our happiness is gone...": The Wesendonck Scandal, 1857-1858 Chapter 9. The Bitter End: 1858-1859 Chapter 10. "In love and fidelity, your Emma": Emma Herwegh Chapter 11. "...neither wife, housekeeper, nor friend": Dresden, Paris, Biebrich, 1860-1862 Chapter 12. "That weak, blind man...": The end of a marriage, 1863-1866 References Index

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Book SynopsisThis biography of Minna Planer, Richard Wagner's wife of 30 years, reveals her as a self-assured woman and artist who was vital to her husband's creative life. When Richard Wagner first met Minna Planer in 1834, he was an unknown conductor, she a popular actress. His hectic pursuit of her affections culminated in marriage in 1836. Minna endured poverty with him, nursed him through chronic illness, followed him across Europe as he fled from creditors and pursued his artistic goals, and sought to provide him with the stable domestic and erotic life that he craved. He played his works to her as he wrote them, up to Tannhäuser and Lohengrin, and set store by her opinions. But when he went on the run as a wanted revolutionary, Minna only reluctantly followed him into Swiss exile. Domestic peace tentatively prevailed, but was ultimately destroyed by Wagner's passion for Mathilde Wesendonck. In 1858, he and Minna separated, she returned home to Germany, and subsequent efforts at reconciliation proved ultimately impossible. They remained married, however, until Minna's death in 1866. Despite having been at Richard's side as he matured into the composer of the Ring and Tristan, Minna has been given short shrift by most Wagner commentators. In Eva Rieger's acclaimed biography, translated into English by Chris Walton, the author reveals Minna as a self-assured woman and artist who played a crucial role in the creative life of her husband.Trade ReviewFascinating, detailed, and absorbing. Chris Walton has done a superb job in creating the illusion that this volume was written in English. Detailed footnotes are included as well as a number of germane photographs. Marvelous to read and completely engrossing. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *Through Rieger's vivid and sometimes humorous presentation of Richard and Minna's daily life together, we discover an attractive and also tragic figure, courageous, highly adaptable and generous to the point of offering her last piece of bread to a hungry friend, even when she didn't know what her own next meal would be. -- Anna Stoll Knecht * The Wagner Journal *Table of ContentsIllustrations Abbreviations Notes on this translation Introduction: "He could not breathe without her" Chapter 1. "I have become her despot": From Love to Marriage Chapter 2. "Deprived of incipient motherhood": Riga, London, Paris, 1836-1842 Chapter 3. "Home for me is you alone": Dresden 1842-1847 Chapter 4. "My knucklehead of a husband": Revolution and Its Aftermath, 1848-1850 Chapter 5. "This ridiculous, amorous intrigue": The Jessie Laussot Affair, 1850-1851 Chapter 6. "That good, foolish man...": Exile in Zurich, 1852-1854 Chapter 7. "I'm a poor, stupid woman to have let you go...": Zurich and London, 1854-1856 Chapter 8. "Alas, now all our happiness is gone...": The Wesendonck Scandal, 1857-1858 Chapter 9. The Bitter End: 1858-1859 Chapter 10. "In love and fidelity, your Emma": Emma Herwegh Chapter 11. "...neither wife, housekeeper, nor friend": Dresden, Paris, Biebrich, 1860-1862 Chapter 12. "That weak, blind man...": The end of a marriage, 1863-1866 References Index

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Book SynopsisThe formative early ballets of West Side Story creators Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins explored in detail for the very first time. 2022 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner. Leonard Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins stand as giants of the musical-theatre world, but it was ballet that launched their stage careers and established their relationship. With Fancy Free (1944), their triumphant debut collaboration produced by Ballet Theatre, Bernstein, Robbins, and set designer Oliver Smith-all in their mid-twenties- captured the spirit of wartime New York, created a defining ballet of the period still widely performed today, and became overnight sensations. The hit musical On the Town (1944) and a now largely forgotten ballet, Facsimile (1946), followed over the next two years. Drawing extensively on previously unpublished archival documents, Bernstein and Robbins: The Early Ballets provides a richly detailed and original historical account of the creation, premiere, and reception of Fancy Free and Facsimile. It reveals the vital and sometimes conflicting role of Ballet Theatre, explores how Bernstein composed the scores, sheds light on the central importance of Oliver Smith, and considers the legacy of these works for all involved. The result is a new understanding of Bernstein, Robbins, and this formative period in their lives.Trade ReviewSophie Redfern's groundbreaking and compelling new book offers a vivid account of the often high-octane collaboration between Leonard Bernstein and the choreographer Jerome Robbins-and to a lesser extent, the theatre designer Oliver Smith. . . . [A] manifestly important book that will undoubtedly establish itself as a classic text in the fields of both Bernstein and ballet studies, and which is distinguished throughout by its expert interweaving of historical narrative, source studies, music analysis, and criticism. -- Mervyn Cooke * MUSIC & LETTERS *This very interesting book primarily relates the early partnership of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins. I enjoyed Redfern's...discussion of the staging and choreography of the various shows. The author wisely includes a discussion of Bernstein's ability to work quickly on theatrical assignments and Robbins's legendary rehearsal requirements, and how that affected their relationship. This book offers corrections to...prior information and presents the ballet information with enough detail to better appreciate the music and choreography. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *For choreographers interested in commissioning scores for their dance pieces, the information contained in this book is very useful. -- Mark Kappel * NEWSNOTES DANCE BLOG *Sophie Redfern's new book on Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins provides a rich portrait of their collaborative relationship [and] the first in-depth, published analysis of their ballets. Her book adds many insights into the working relationship between these two influential figures. A fascinating narrative arc emerges. Redfern's book is important reading for scholars...who want to think more deeply about collaborative relationships between composers and choreographers. * STUDIES IN MUSICAL THEATRE *Rich [archival] materials and Redfern's thorough analysis of Bernstein's music constructively articulate how each artist's individual contributions defined the futures of both ballet and musical theater in the United States...Some of the most compelling highlight Bernstein's adaptation of popular and Latin music into the classical French structure of ballet. Fancy Free's inclusion of defined character motifs, stacked ostinatos, tone rows, and rhythmic complexity would give American ballet a definitive form. * SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC BULLETIN *Table of ContentsIntroduction Setting the Scene: American Ballet and Jerome Robbins Towards a First Ballet: Fancy Free Takes Shape Creating Fancy Free: A Long-Distance Collaboration The Music of Fancy Free: The Sketches and Score Explored The Fancy Free Premiere and a Move to Broadway Towards a Second Ballet: Bye Bye Jackie and the Creation of Facsimile The Music of Facsimile: The Sketches and Score Explored The Facsimile Premiere and Legacy of the Ballets Epilogue: Bernstein and Dance Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA practical manual for building musical understanding and physical skills, intended for conductors at all stages of development.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisBecause Johnny Cash cut his classic singles at Sun Records in Memphis and reigned for years as country royalty from his Nashville-area mansion, people tend to associate the Man in Black with Tennessee. But some of Cash’s best songs—including classics like “Pickin’ Time,” “Big River,” and “Five Feet High and Rising”—sprang from his youth in the sweltering cotton fields of Mississippi County in northeastern Arkansas.In Country Boy, Colin Woodward combines biography, history, and music criticism to illustrate how Cash’s experiences in Arkansas shaped his life and work. The grip of the Great Depression on Arkansas’s small farmers, the comforts and tragedies of family, and a bedrock of faith all lent his music the power and authenticity that so appealed to millions. Though Cash left Arkansas as an eighteen-year-old, he often returned to his home state, playing some of his most memorable and personal concerts on his native soil, where, to use Cash’s phrase, he could touch his roots again. Drawing upon the country legend’s songs and writings, as well as the accounts of family, fellow musicians, and chroniclers, Woodward reveals how the profound sincerity and empathy so central to Cash’s music depended on his maintaining a deep connection to his native Arkansas—a place that never left his soul.Trade Review“Johnny Cash comes alive in Arkansas, and it in him. Though his fabulous career took him far afield, as Colin Woodward tells us in this important book, all roads led back to the piney woods and gumbo soil of his fateful home state.”—Michael Streissguth, Johnny Cash: The Biography“Country Boy is a welcome addition to all things Cash, focusing directly on his home state of Arkansas and the influence it had on shaping his values and nurturing his creativity. Colin Woodward peels away myths and legends, including some perpetuated by Cash himself, and replaces them with facts and absorbing scenarios of how the fictions came about.”—Ruth Hawkins, Emeritus director, Arkansas State University Heritage Sites, and founding director, Johnny Cash Boyhood Home.“Colin Woodward has scraped away any romanticism that might obscure the reality of Cash’s roots: the hardscrabble existence along with nobility, faith, and the best of the human condition. We know where Johnny Cash ended up. This inspiring book tells us how he got there.”—Mark Stielper, music historian “It would be hard to overstate the role of Johnny Cash’s Arkansas upbringing, through Depression and wartime, in shaping the artist and citizen he later became. Country Boy puts Cash in proper historical and geographic context in this vital contribution to our understanding of the Man in Black.”—Michael Stewart Foley, author of Citizen Cash: The Political Life and Times of Johnny Cash“In Country Boy: The Roots of Johnny Cash, Colin Edward Woodward argues that the connection between Cash and his native Arkansas deserves far more scholarly attention than it has received in the past. He contends that Arkansas germinated the seed of Cash’s genius and served as a lifelong anchor as he navigated the twists and turns of an iconic career. … Woodward grounds Cash firmly within scholarly sources and wider historical contexts, focusing on Cash’s humanity, his failures and successes as a husband and father, his drug abuse, and his important contributions to prison reform and Native American social justice. Throughout, Woodward keeps Cash grounded as he surveys the artist’s recording career in Memphis, his move to California, and his life on the outskirts of Nashville. Woodward’s musical analysis is particularly strong throughout the book. … The book is accessible and well-researched, and a welcome addition to southern history. Woodward’s command of Cash historiography is clear, and his careful use of contemporary newspaper coverage, family remembrances, and Cash’s own words renders a compelling argument worthy of recommendation.”—Brian Dempsey, Journal of Southern History, August 2023

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Book SynopsisBroadcasting the Ozarks explores the vibrant country music scene that emerged in Springfield, Missouri, in the 1930s and thrived for half a century. Central to this history is the Ozark Jubilee (1955–60), the first regularly broadcast live country music show on network television. Dubbed the “king of the televised barn dances,” the show introduced the Ozarks region to viewers across America and put Springfield in the running with Nashville for dominance of the country music industry—with the Jubilee’s producer, Si Siman, at the helm. Siman’s life story is almost as remarkable as the show he produced. He was booking Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller during the mid-1930s while still a high school student and produced nationally syndicated country music radio shows in the decades that followed. Siman was a promotional genius with an ear for talent, a persuasive gift for gab, and the energy and persistence to make things happen for many future Country Music Hall of Famers, including Chet Atkins, Porter Wagoner, the Browns, and Brenda Lee. Following the Jubilee’s five-year run, Siman had a hand in some of the greatest hits of the twentieth century as a music publisher, collaborating with such songwriters as rockabilly legend and fellow Springfieldian Ronnie Self, who wrote Brenda Lee’s signature hit, “I’m Sorry,” and Wayne Carson, who wrote Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind.” Although Siman had numerous opportunities to find success in bigger cities, he chose to do it all from his home in the Ozarks.

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Book SynopsisFrom Cleveland to Cincinnati and everywhere in between, Ohio rocks. Rebels and Underdogs: The Story of Ohio Rock and Roll takes readers behind the scenes to the birth and rise of musical legends like the Black Keys, Nine Inch Nails, Devo, the Breeders, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, and many others who started in garages and bars across Ohio. Through candid first-hand interviews, Garin Pirnia captures new, unheard stories from national legends like the Black Keys and slow-burn local bands like Wussy from Cincinnati. Discover why Greenhornes' members Patrick Keeler and Brian Olive almost killed each other on stage one night, what happened to the pink guitar Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails gave to band member Richard Patrick, why Devo loved the dissonance when they were booed by 400,000 music lovers in England, and so much more! Entertaining, inspiring, and revolutionary, Rebels and Underdogs is the untold story of the bands, the state, and rock itself.Trade Review"Jerry Casale (DEVO) probably sums it up best in this book: 'In Ohio, nobody gave a shit.' But around that inversely proud axiom, Garin Pirnia gives it a fine archaeologist's try to plop meat all over the bones of one of rock'n'roll's unsung if inarguably most important locales, just as the genre is looking like a skeleton of its former fame."—Eric Davidson, singer in New Bomb Turks and author of We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut"Ohio's rock 'n' roll has always sounded like it was made by teenagers stranded in the wasteland, obsessing about music they'd never actually heard, then trying to make it themselves, which is why the best bands—Devo, Afghan Whigs, Guided by Voices, Nine Inch Nails—are so hard to pin down. But Garin Pirnia has done just that in this exceptional book, an account satisfyingly comprehensive, but driven by the instincts and ardor of a true devotee."—David Giffels, author of 'Furnishing Eternity' and coauthor of 'Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!'Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Akron/Kent2. Cincinnati3. Cleveland4. Columbus5. Dayton

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Book SynopsisFrom Cleveland to Cincinnati and everywhere in between, Ohio rocks. Rebels and Underdogs: The Story of Ohio Rock and Roll takes readers behind the scenes to the birth and rise of musical legends like the Black Keys, Nine Inch Nails, Devo, the Breeders, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, and many others who started in garages and bars across Ohio. Through candid first-hand interviews, Garin Pirnia captures new, unheard stories from national legends like the Black Keys and slow-burn local bands like Wussy from Cincinnati. Discover why Greenhornes' members Patrick Keeler and Brian Olive almost killed each other on stage one night, what happened to the pink guitar Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails gave to band member Richard Patrick, why Devo loved the dissonance when they were booed by 400,000 music lovers in England, and so much more! Entertaining, inspiring, and revolutionary, Rebels and Underdogs is the untold story of the bands, the state, and rock itself.Trade Review"Jerry Casale (DEVO) probably sums it up best in this book: 'In Ohio, nobody gave a shit.' But around that inversely proud axiom, Garin Pirnia gives it a fine archaeologist's try to plop meat all over the bones of one of rock'n'roll's unsung if inarguably most important locales, just as the genre is looking like a skeleton of its former fame."—Eric Davidson, singer in New Bomb Turks and author of We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut"Ohio's rock 'n' roll has always sounded like it was made by teenagers stranded in the wasteland, obsessing about music they'd never actually heard, then trying to make it themselves, which is why the best bands—Devo, Afghan Whigs, Guided by Voices, Nine Inch Nails—are so hard to pin down. But Garin Pirnia has done just that in this exceptional book, an account satisfyingly comprehensive, but driven by the instincts and ardor of a true devotee."—David Giffels, author of 'Furnishing Eternity' and coauthor of 'Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!'Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Akron/Kent2. Cincinnati3. Cleveland4. Columbus5. Dayton

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Book SynopsisDespite the nearly universal fame of the Beatles, many people only know the fairytale version of the iconic group's rise to fame. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Liverpool, Francis Kenny reveals the real John Lennon who preceded the legend, showing how his childhood shaped his personality, creative process, and path to success, and how it also destroyed his mental health, leading to the downfall of one of the most confident and brilliant musicians of the past century.The Making of John Lennon is a must-read for any Beatles fan. It explains how Lennon's turbulent family background affected his relationships, why the true inspiration for "Strawberry Fields" could not be revealed, how Pete Best's college connection led to his removal from the group, and why class backgrounds were the real reason for the breakup of the legendary band. Offering a complex portrait of Lennon's early life, The Making of John Lennon tells the true story behind the rise of the legendary icon.Trade ReviewThis isn't a roller-coaster ride, skipping through John Lennon's life, but a carefully prepared examination of his early years, slowly examining the general picture that surrounded John's life, rather than focusing on one specific aspect, wrapping the surroundings of the city, the family, the friends, the music and the events which forged the young man who became a 20th century icon, into a whole. -- Bill Harry, author of The John Lennon EncyclopediaThe author focuses on the question of what might have caused the downfall of one of the most brilliant musicians of the past century. Kenny emphasizes three main influences which helped shape Lennon's creative process and stayed with him throughout his life: his strong roots in his hometown of Liverpool; his troubled mental health; and a turbulent family background. * Huffington Post *Table of ContentsMilestones in The Making of John LennonIntroduction1. 1800s: City of Outsiders2. 1900s: Toxteth Park3. 1940-45: Salvation Army Hospital4. 1946-50: Wandsworth Jail5. 1950-55: Gladstone Hall6. 1955-57: Town and Country7. 1957-60: Hope Street8. 1960-61: The Wyvern Club9. 1961-62: Great Charlotte Street10. 1961-62: The Grapes11. 1963-64: Liverpool Town Hall12. 1964: Hansel and Gretel House13. 1965: Perugia Way14. 1965-66: Candlestick Park15. 1966-67: Cavendish Avenue16. 1967-68: Foothills of the Himalayas17. 1968: Abbey Road18. 1969: Savile Row19. 1969 (Part 2): Tittenhurst20. 1970-71: Dakota BuildingEpilogueEndnote ReferencesBibliographyInterviewsUseful Websites

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Book SynopsisHarry Vanda and George Young put Friday on our minds, triggered Easyfever with the Easybeats, and harnessed the raw energy and power of Aussie pub rock to make superstars of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, and the Angels. The day Vanda and Young met at Sydneys Villawood Migrant Hostel has been called the most significant moment in Australian music history. What followed, as members of the Easybeats, producers and mentors for Georges brothers band AC/DC, and songwriters of a diverse range of hits from Friday on My Mind, Shes So Fine, Yesterdays Hero and Love is in the Air to Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, has provided the soundtrack to the last 50 years. Featuring revelatory interviews with Vanda and Young and members AC/DC and the other chart-topping acts they worked with, this is the inspirational story of Australias top songwriters, producers and starmakers.

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