Musicians, singers, bands and groups Books

Book SynopsisNesta Robert Marley comes alive in this unique collection of classic, rare and unseen photographs; from Trench Town to becoming the first Reggae superstar and an icon of the Rastafarian religion. Bob Marley is seen here on stage, on the pitch and at leisure strumming his intricately carved Ovation.

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Book SynopsisYet another in our illustrious series of Illustrated Biographies, here are hundreds of classic, rare and previously unseen photos of Springsteen narrated by a talented editor - and bookseller.

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Book SynopsisYet another in our illustrious series of Illustrated Biographies, with photos drawn from the massive archive of The Daily Mirror, digitized specially for publication in this book.

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Book SynopsisSir Elton is shown here in hundreds of photos that have never before been seen, drawn from the massive archive of The Daily Mirror.

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Book SynopsisThe complete history of the photogenic Beatles is here told and illustrated with contemporaneous newspaper and magazine articles, memorabilia (from the collection of Peter Nash), and 750 classic, rare and unseen photographs drawn from the Associated Newspaper Archive.Trade ReviewWhile little can compare with the sheer exhilaration of the 1960s, I hope you get a feel of those adrenalin-rich days as you read the pages that follow. -- Robert Whitaker, official Beatles photographer From The Foreword

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Book SynopsisIn 1996 Tupac Shakur, one of the most talented artists of his time, was murdered by an unknown gunman. Fred L. Johnson and Tayannah Lee McQuillar examine the theories surrounding his death and the story of Tupac's lost legacy in this definitive biography. For millions, Shakur gave voice to their stories, but there was also another side to him, revealed as his life spun out of control, as the whispered warnings from friends went unheeded and the denunciations of critics grew louder. Disturbingly, he sang and wrote about his impending death. When it came, it brought the music industry to its knees and ended an era when American rappers were leaders in using their art to speak the truth to corporate, government, and judicial power.Trade ReviewBooklist, 2/15/2010 "The Shakur who emerges here is no illiterate gangster-turned-gangsta but, rather, a bright, artistic, driven man whose life and career continue to inspire many people." Library Journal, 1/29/10 "Original...As much a biography of Shakur as a history of racial struggle in America...Those looking for a compelling, no-holds-barred biography and an education regarding significant historical events should seek out this book." Buffalo News, 1/31/10 "Fine writing and deft analysis." PublishersWeekly.com, 2/22/10 "Exhaustively researched and contextualized...Insightful, enjoyable and expansive...This undeniably solid biography will deepen anyone's appreciation of the hip-hop legend." The Source, March 2010 "An in-depth and chilling analysis of the rap icon."

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Book SynopsisPart memoir, part cookbook, and all rock and roll, Red Velvet Underground tells the story of how musician Freda Love Smith's indie-rock past grew into her family- and food-centric present. Smith, born in Nashville and raised in Indiana, is best known as the drummer and co-founder of bands such as the Boston-based Blake Babies, Antenna, and the Mysteries of Life. Red Velvet Underground is loosely framed around cooking lessons Smith gave to her eldest son, Jonah, before he left for college. Smith compares her son's experiences to her own-meeting Juliana Hatfield and starting the Blake Babies, touring in Evan Dando's hand-me-down station wagon, and crashing with Henry Rollins, who introduced the band to local California fare-all while plumbing the deeper meanings behind the role of food, cooking, and family. Interspersed throughout these stories are 45 flexitarian recipes-mostly, but not exclusively, vegetarian-such as red pepper-cashew spread, spinach and brazil nut pesto, and vegan strawberry-cream scones. Throughout the book, Smith reveals how food, in addition to music, has evolved into an important means for creativity and improvisation. Red Velvet Underground is an engaging exploration of the ways food and music have informed identity through every stage of one woman's life.Trade ReviewPraise for Freda Love Smith's Red Velvet Underground: "These are sweet, unsentimental scenes from the ever-evolving life of a woman of many shifting and balancing roles: mother, wife, drummer, student, teacher, friend, daughter, food enthusiast. It's all tied together with tantalizing recipes that have been lovingly improvised and tweaked into a life-affirming doneness." -Juliana Hatfield, musician "Red Velvet Underground is not only a rock memoir and recipe book but also a poignant work of personal self-discovery and the challenges yet joys of parenting." -David Chiu, Huffington Post "This memoir is filled with twists and turns, rises and falls-all chronicled with Freda's characteristic charm and seductive wit. You might call it Eat, Play, Love... a wealth of road stories and recipes to share." -Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor at Rolling Stone "Thoughtful and wry, [Smith]'s a storyteller who doesn't scrub out blemishes but reminds readers just how much being an individual still matters, even in adulthood." -Mark Guarino, Chicago Tribune "Freda Love Smith and I share three great passions: music, writing, and food. She deftly combines them here, adding an incisive view of motherhood, an inspiring capacity for joy, and a winning dash of Midwest humility. Love and deliciousness suffuse every page of this tender, delightful book." -Ira Robbins, music journalist and cofounder of Trouser Press "Freda Love Smith titled her memoir Red Velvet Underground: A Rock Memoir, with Recipes, and it's hard to imagine a better one for this rock musician who became a mother and dedicated home cook." -The Boston Globe "In the quietly compelling Red Velvet Underground, Freda weaves together stories of her salad days as a musician, reflections on raising her two sons, and meditations on how the act of cooking can heal and nurture. Anyone who can come off with such lovable sincerity while describing searing and eating her own placenta is a winner in our book." -Paste Magazine "The book is a surprisingly heady mix of omnivorous backstory and refreshingly unfussy recipes that managed to bring me out of a serious pre-empty nest cooking funk." -Lisa Bralts Kelly, Innocent Words "You will find yourself literally and figuratively hungry for more after every chapter." -Len Kasper, broadcast announcer for the Chicago Cubs "Red Velvet Underground covers a lot of ground... in a poignant and elegant voice. It's just another example of how food not only sustains us but also finds a way to weave into our lives and connects us with other people." -David Chiu, Brooklyn Based "Freda manages to elevate the personal to the universal with deeply relatable stories. Themes of food, family, and music are woven artfully together with wisdom, warmth, and humor. I found myself alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) inspired to cook, play guitar, kiss my kids, and call my friends. And eat!" -Tanya Donelly, musician "The former Blake Babies drummer's stories of food, music, and family resonate with warmth and humility." -largehearted boy "This book has a lot of heart, capturing what it's like to be caught between the nostalgia for the life you led in your 20s and the sobering responsibilities of being a parent of a kid now reaching that same golden age." -Bill Janovitz, musician and author of Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones "A gritty rock club and a modest home kitchen might seem like opposite ends of the earth. But in Freda Love Smith's new book, Red Velvet Underground, the two are deliciously twined." -Susannah Felts, Chapter 16 "An appealing choice for readers who are looking for a humorous take on parenthood and food." -Derek Sanderson, Library Journal "Her book deftly stitches together family life, stories from her stints as the drummer in The Blake Babies, Antenna and The Mysteries of Life, and personal food-related memories." -InsideToronto.com "Smith shares her own story with honesty and integrity." -Frank Valish, Under the Radar "Just like flavors in a recipe, this book is an interesting fusion of ingredients that make up the life of [Freda Love Smith]." -WGN-TV Lunchbreak "We're digging Freda Love Smith's Red Velvet Underground super hard." -Emily Taylor, NUVO "Freda Love Smith writes an honest and moving memoir about the very food of life-the music, meals, and mistakes we make; the roads we do and don't take; the lessons we give and receive; the people we love, lose, find, and become along the way. Both on the page and behind her drum kit, Love Smith is a subtle yet powerful keeper of the time." -Chrissie Dickinson, music journalist and former editor of The Journal of Country Music

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Book SynopsisGet inside the head of one of the most influential musicians of our time, a pop music phenomenon turned titan of industry and cultural icon: Taylor Swift. This collection of quotes has been carefully curated from Swift’s numerous public statements—interviews, op-eds, social media posts, and more. It’s a comprehensive picture of her meteoric rise to the top, her ever-savvy business sense, and her increasingly vocalized perspective on the music world and beyond. Swift’s catchy, chart-topping songs have propelled her to become one of the bestselling musicians of all time. But in the 15 years she’s been making music, she has also amassed enough power to buck the norms of an industry notorious for controlling the images of its often very young female artists. Her latest, unprecedented record deal gives her ownership of all her master records, the ability to dictate the terms of her albums’ streaming releases in order to maximize her profits, and a requirement that her label share proceeds from sale of its stake in Spotify with its musicians. She has championed the rights of artists to earn fair royalties, and more recently, she has inspired tens of thousands of fans to register to vote. Swift’s achievements have earned her spots on both Forbes’s Most Powerful Women and Time’s 100 Most Influential People lists. Now, for the first time, you can find her most inspirational, thought-provoking quotes in one place.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Personal LifeNever Grow Up: Early Life and the Road to NashvilleA Place in This World: Becoming Taylor SwiftLove Story: Romance, Heartbreak, and Reputation Part II: Empire BuilderBlank Space: Inside the MusicLong Live: Taylor’s Greatest Romance—with Her FansEverything Has Changed: The Shifting Music IndustryCall It What You Want: Celebrity and Controversy Part III: The Wisdom of Taylor SwiftSpeak Now: Finding a Political VoiceShake It Off: And Other Life Lessons Milestones

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Book SynopsisThe newest, most updated book on Prince available today—now updated with information about the afterlife of his work following his untimely death.Famously reticent and perennially controversial, Prince was one of the few music superstars who remained, largely, an enigma—even up to his premature death on April 21, 2016. A fixture of the pop canon, Prince is widely held to be the greatest musician of his generation and will undoubtedly remain an inspiring and singular influence throughout our culture.This revised and updated second edition of this meticulously researched biography is the most comprehensive work on Prince yet published. Unlike other Prince books, this one eschews speculation into the artist's highly guarded private life and instead focuses deep and sustained attention exactly where it should be: on his work. Acclaimed British novelist and critic Matt Thorne draws on years of research and dozens of interviews with Prince's intimate associates (many of whom have never spoken on record before) to examine every phase of the musician's 35-year career, including nearly every song—released and unreleased—that Prince has recorded. Originally released in the UK in 2012, this revised and updated second US edition of Prince includes updated content regarding work released and made available after the artist’s death..This astonishingly rich, almost encyclopedic biography is a must-have for any serious fan of Prince.Trade ReviewPraise for Prince: The Man and His Music by Matt Thorne:"Matt Thorne's Prince is the definitive work on the man; I am listening again to every piece of his music with renewed enthusiasm." —Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip"[Thorne] brings an enthusiasm, intelligence, and maverick spirit to the 562 pages covering the 35-year career of Prince Rogers Nelson. . . It's to Thorne's credit that through painstaking research and interviews he manages to paint a picture of what the man, rather than the myth, is actually like. A must for the legions of Prince fans out there." —Doug Johnstone, Big Issue"Thorne brings an exhaustive knowledge and attention to detail to the task. . . if you're as much of a fan as Thorne, you'll be in heaven." —Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph"The final word on the mad genius known as Prince Rogers Nelson. There is now quite literally nothing more to say about Prince or his music. It's all here—dance, sex, romance, and above all, the music. Downright orgasmic." —Current magazine"If you've ever craved the empurpled equivalent of Paul Williams' Bob Dylan: Performing Artist. . . you are well served." —Danny Eccleston, Mojo"Impishly encyclopaedic, brings alert senses to bear. . . in stripping back the purple finery." —Ben Thompson, Independent on Sunday Music Books of the Year"Thorne is a good stylist and a deep thinker but primarily he's a fan. . . . Thorne is a compelling, emotional narrator." —Kate Mossman, New Statesman"Highly engaging." —Mark Ellen, Observer"Everything I love in a book." —Nemone, BBC Radio 6 MusicTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Prologue: Come 2 My House (Part 1)1 Justifications from a Mamma-Jamma2 The Business of Music3 Wouldn’t You Love to Love Me?4 Still Waiting5 Creating Uptown6 Gigolos Get Lonely Too (Part 1) 73 7 Royal Jewels 8 Nikki’s Castle 9 There Aren’t Any Rules 10 New Position 11 Roadhouse Garden and Songs for Susannah 12 The Story of a Man I Am Not 13 Rebirth of the Flesh 14 Crystal Ball . . . 15 . . . Or Sign o’ the Times? 16 For Those of U on Valium . . . 17 Spooky and All That He Crawls for . . . 18 Cross the Line 19 Dance with the Devil 20 What’s Wrong with Graffiti Bridge? 21 Gigolos Get Lonely Too (Part 2) 22 Playing Strip Pool with Vanessa 23 The Chains of Turin 24 Part I: Introducing the Friction Years 25 Part 2: ‘It Was Just About Needing to Get ItDone . . .’ 26 Part 3: ‘All I Gotta Do Is Sell a Million and I CanQuit . . .’ 27 Wasted Kisses . . . 28 . . . And Missed Opportunities 29 Join My Club 30 New Directions in Music 31 True Funk Soldier 32 Come 2 My House (Part 2) 33 21 Nights in London: A Fan’s Notes 34 Gigolos Get Lonely Too (Part 3) 35 An Entirely New Galaxy Awaits . . . 36 Ending Endlessly Epilogue: Living Out Loud Afterword to the American Edition Acknowledgements Bibliography Notes Illustration Credits General IndexIndex of Works by Prince About the Author

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Book SynopsisAn experimental account of one woman’s quest to shed addictive substances and behaviors from her life—which dares to ask if we’re really better off without them.In January 2021, Freda Love Smith, acclaimed rock musician and author of Red Velvet Underground, watched as insurgents stormed the U.S. Capitol. It felt like the culmination of eight months of pandemic anxiety. She needed a drink, badly. But she suspected a midday whiskey wouldn’t cure what was really ailing her—nor would her nightly cannabis gummy, or her four daily cups of tea, or any of the other substances she relied on to get through each day. Thus began her experiment to remove one addictive behavior from her life each month to see if sobriety was really all it was cracked up to be.With honesty and humor, Smith describes the effects of withdrawal from alcohol, sugar, caffeine, cannabis, and social media, weaving in her reflections on the childhood experiences and cultural norms that fed her addictions to these behaviors. Part personal history, part sociological research, and part wry observation on addiction, intoxication, media, and pandemic behavior, I Quit Everything will resonate with anyone who has danced with destructive habits—that is, those who are “sober curious” but not necessarily sober. Smith’s experiment goes beyond simply quitting these five addictive behaviors. Moved by the circumstances of the pandemic and the general state of the world, she ends up leaving an unsatisfying job for more meaningful work and reevaluating other significant details of her life, such as motherhood and the music that defined her career.More than a simple sobriety story, Smith’s book is an exploration of passion, legacy, and what becomes of our identities once we’ve quit everything.Trade ReviewPraise for Freda Love Smith's I Quit Everything:“Reading I Quit Everything is like having a heart-to-heart with your smartest friend—cups of spearmint tea steaming as the conversation goes from personal disclosure to pop-culture analysis to philosophical inquiry and back. Freda Love Smith writes at one point that this is an "anti-self-help" book, and it does offer much more than your average bullet-pointed guide past a midlife crisis. But it helped me, because as a sometimes impulsive, often self-critical, always curious woman at midlife, I related so much to Smith's desire to both reset her life and celebrate all she's lived through. Heartening and challenging.” —Ann Powers, author of Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music“To what extent are our habits addictions? What would it take for us to give them up? What would be left of us without them? Freda Love Smith asks these questions and many more and takes action to answer them. She quits alcohol. She quits sugar. She quits weed. She quits caffeine. She quits social media. What does the withdrawal feel like? Does their absence amount to addition or subtraction? Is this a temporary experiment or new life direction? Smith is such an engaging, probing writer that you’re hanging on tight for this brisk ride, as each question begets a bigger question that she investigates as well as lives. Should she quit drumming too? What about her academic job? Where’s the healthy balance among quitting, moderating, and starting over? The one thing you can’t quit is reading I Quit Everything.” —Mark Caro, author of The Foie Gras Wars and host of the Caropop podcast“Searching for the sweet spot between excess and deprivation, I Quit Everything explores the challenges of our immoderate times. Quitting can be revelatory, Smith concludes, even when it’s temporary.” —Eula Biss, author of Having and Being Had“In general, quitting things has a negative connotation. But for Freda Love Smith, the decision to cut out alcohol, sugar, caffeine, cannabis, and social media ended up being a positive. Full of illuminating insights and unsparing self-reflection, I Quit Everything celebrates the personal liberation that comes after shedding detrimental habits. Smith examines the roots of her reliance on unhealthy substances, and then uses disparate secondary sources (scientific studies, Greek mythology, the sociology book Getting Loose: Lifestyle Consumption in the 1970s, Gregory Bateson’s influential article about Alcoholics Anonymous) to draw conclusions about her behavior. By the end of the book, quitting has emboldened Smith to carve out new life paths and embrace different dreams. A classic example of addition by subtraction, I Quit Everything provides an abundance of helpful advice—and hope—to anyone feeling stuck in their ways and looking for a change.” —Annie Zaleski, author of a 33 1/3 book on Duran Duran’s Rio, and illustrated biographies of Lady Gaga and Pink“I’ve said it a thousand times. So have you: I’m going to take care of myself. Smith actually does it, with clarity, humor, and deep interrogation into the societal complexities and personal histories of alcohol, weed, caffeine, food, and social media—the things that save us and, at the same time, drain us dry. I Quit Everything doesn’t ask us to quit; it asks us to pay attention, to listen to our bodies, to find what serves us and hold on like the holy goddamn grail. I loved it.” —Megan Stielstra, author of The Wrong Way to Save Your Life"A humorous, insightful memoir of self-improvement." —Kirkus Reviews"More thoughtful than one expects from a chronicle of a midlife crisis, this personal reckoning makes for compulsive reading, providing much food for thought and spurring considerable discussion." —Booklist, starred review"Fun." —Publishers Weekly"Written with both poignancy and humor, the work could be considered part memoir, part self-help manual, and part sociological study in that it looks at the origins of her addictions while contextualizing them." —Forbes"Freda Love Smith's memoir I Quit Everything is powerful and wise, a book as insightful as it is entertaining." —Largehearted Boy"The book is far from a 12-step manual or even a how-to guide on recovery. . . But the memoir explores the power of quitting everyday habits." —Axios ChicagoPraise for Freda Love Smith's Red Velvet Underground:"These are sweet, unsentimental scenes from the ever-evolving life of a woman of many shifting and balancing roles: mother, wife, drummer, student, teacher, friend, daughter, food enthusiast. It’s all tied together with tantalizing recipes that have been lovingly improvised and tweaked into a life-affirming doneness." —Juliana Hatfield, musician"Red Velvet Underground is not only a rock memoir and recipe book but also a poignant work of personal self-discovery and the challenges yet joys of parenting." —David Chiu, Huffington Post"This memoir is filled with twists and turns, rises and falls—all chronicled with Freda’s characteristic charm and seductive wit. You might call it Eat, Play, Love. . . a wealth of road stories and recipes to share." —Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor at Rolling Stone"Thoughtful and wry, [Smith]'s a storyteller who doesn't scrub out blemishes but reminds readers just how much being an individual still matters, even in adulthood." —Mark Guarino, Chicago Tribune"Freda Love Smith and I share three great passions: music, writing, and food. She deftly combines them here, adding an incisive view of motherhood, an inspiring capacity for joy, and a winning dash of Midwest humility. Love and deliciousness suffuse every page of this tender, delightful book." —Ira Robbins, music journalist and cofounder of Trouser Press“Freda Love Smith titled her memoir Red Velvet Underground: A Rock Memoir, with Recipes, and it’s hard to imagine a better one for this rock musician who became a mother and dedicated home cook.” —The Boston Globe“In the quietly compelling Red Velvet Underground, Freda weaves together stories of her salad days as a musician, reflections on raising her two sons, and meditations on how the act of cooking can heal and nurture. Anyone who can come off with such lovable sincerity while describing searing and eating her own placenta is a winner in our book.” —Paste Magazine"The book is a surprisingly heady mix of omnivorous backstory and refreshingly unfussy recipes that managed to bring me out of a serious pre-empty nest cooking funk." —Lisa Bralts Kelly, Innocent Words"You will find yourself literally and figuratively hungry for more after every chapter." —Len Kasper, broadcast announcer for the Chicago Cubs"Red Velvet Underground covers a lot of ground. . . in a poignant and elegant voice. It’s just another example of how food not only sustains us but also finds a way to weave into our lives and connects us with other people." —David Chiu, Brooklyn Based"Freda manages to elevate the personal to the universal with deeply relatable stories. Themes of food, family, and music are woven artfully together with wisdom, warmth, and humor. I found myself alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) inspired to cook, play guitar, kiss my kids, and call my friends. And eat!" —Tanya Donelly, musician"The former Blake Babies drummer's stories of food, music, and family resonate with warmth and humility." —largehearted boy"This book has a lot of heart, capturing what it’s like to be caught between the nostalgia for the life you led in your 20s and the sobering responsibilities of being a parent of a kid now reaching that same golden age.” —Bill Janovitz, musician and author of Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones"A gritty rock club and a modest home kitchen might seem like opposite ends of the earth. But in Freda Love Smith’s new book, Red Velvet Underground, the two are deliciously twined." —Susannah Felts, Chapter 16"An appealing choice for readers who are looking for a humorous take on parenthood and food." —Derek Sanderson, Library Journal“Her book deftly stitches together family life, stories from her stints as the drummer in The Blake Babies, Antenna and The Mysteries of Life, and personal food-related memories.” —InsideToronto.com"Smith shares her own story with honesty and integrity." —Frank Valish, Under the Radar"Just like flavors in a recipe, this book is an interesting fusion of ingredients that make up the life of [Freda Love Smith]." —WGN-TV Lunchbreak"We're digging Freda Love Smith's Red Velvet Underground super hard." —Emily Taylor, NUVO"Freda Love Smith writes an honest and moving memoir about the very food of life—the music, meals, and mistakes we make; the roads we do and don't take; the lessons we give and receive; the people we love, lose, find, and become along the way. Both on the page and behind her drum kit, Love Smith is a subtle yet powerful keeper of the time.” —Chrissie Dickinson, music journalist and former editor of The Journal of Country MusicTable of ContentsI QuitAlcoholSugarCannabisCaffeineSocial MediaEverythingBibliographyAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisChet Atkins called Lenny Breau (1941-1984) ""the greatest guitarist who ever walked the face of the earth."" Breau's astonishing virtuosity influenced countless performers, but unfortunately it came at the expense of his personal relationships. Ron Forbes-Roberts analyzes Breau and his recordings to reveal an enormously gifted man and the inner workings of his music.Trade Review"Forbes-Roberts walks the line between adulation and research, music nerd and general interest reporter, with aplomb, and most importantly delivers a very readable account of a personality most readers should find endearing (if heart-breaking)." - Boston Phoenix "[A] thorough and fascinating biography, which includes a discography and analysis of Breau's recordings." - Toronto Globe and Mail "Forbes-Roberts does a credible job of depicting the variables that fostered Breau's total devotion to his instrument and subsequent descent into heroin addiction. Where Forbes-Roberts does his best work, though, is in his technical explanations of Breau's unique guitar system and his comprehensive critical analyses of the artist's recording sessions." - All About Jazz"

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Book SynopsisTexas singer/songwriter Vince Bell's story begins in the 1970s. Following the likes of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Bell and his contemporaries Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and Lucinda Williams were on the rise. In December of 1982, Bell was on his way home from the studio (where he and hired guns Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson had just recorded three of Bell's songs) when a drunk driver broadsided him at 65 mph. Thrown over 60 feet from his car, Bell suffered multiple lacerations to his liver, embedded glass, broken ribs, a mangled right forearm, and a severe traumatic brain injury. Not only was his debut album waylaid for a dozen years, life as he'd known it would never be the same. In detailing his recovery from the accident and his round-about climb back on stage, Bell shines a light in those dark corners of the music business that, for the lone musician whose success is measured not by the Top 40 but by nightly victories, usually fall outside of the spotlight. Bell's prose is not unlike his lyrics: spare, beautiful, evocative, and often sneak-up-on-you funny. His chronicle of his own life and near death on the road reveals what it means to live for one's art.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first serious biography of a man widely considered one of Texas’—and America’s—greatest songwriters. Like Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt was the embodiment of that mythic American figure, the troubled troubadour. A Deeper Blue traces Van Zandt’s background as the scion of a prominent Texas family; his troubled early years and his transformation from promising pre-law student to wandering folk singer; his life on the road and the demons that pursued and were pursued by him; the women who loved and inspired him; and the brilliance and enduring beauty of his songs, which are explored in depth.The author draws on eight years’ extensive research and interviews with Townes’ family and closest friends and colleagues. He looks beyond the legend and paints a colorful portrait of a complex man who embraced the darkness of demons and myth as well as the light of deep compassion and humanity, all “for the sake of the song.”

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Book SynopsisWilliam Vacchiano (1912–2005) was principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic from 1942 to 1973, and taught at Juilliard, the Manhattan School of Music, the Mannes College of Music, Queens College, and Columbia Teachers College. While at the Philharmonic, Vacchiano performed under the batons of Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and Leonard Bernstein and played in the world premieres of almost 200 pieces by such composers as Vaughan Williams, Copland, and Barber. Vacchiano was important not only for his performances, but also for his teaching.His students have held the principal chairs of many major orchestras and areprominent teachers themselves, and they have enriched non-classical music as well. Two of his better known students are Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis. Last Stop, Carnegie Hall features an overview of the life of this very private artist, based on several personal interviews conducted by Brian A. Shook and Vacchiano's notes for his own unpublished memoir. Shook also interviewed many of his students and colleagues and includes a chapter containing their recollections. Other important topics include analyses of Vacchiano's pedagogical methods and his interpretations of important trumpet pieces, his 'rules of orchestral performance,' and his equipment. A discography, a bibliography of Vacchiano's own works, and lists of his students and the conductors and players with whom he performed round out this richly illustrated examination of one of the most influential trumpet players and teachersof the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisA lavishly illustrated collection of forty-two profiles of Texas music pioneers, most underrated or overlooked, All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music covers the musical landscape of a most musical state. The first edition was published in 2005 to wide acclaim. This second edition includes updated information, a bonus section of six behind-the-scenes heroes, and fifteen new portraits of Lefty Frizzell, Janis Joplin, and others, spanning such diverse styles as blues, country, hip-hop, conjunto, gospel, rock, and jazz.D.J. Stout and Pentagram designed the reborn edition, with photographer Scott Newton providing portraits. Michael Corcoran has been writing about Texas music for more than thirty years, for the Dallas Morning News and Austin American Statesman, as well as in such publications as Texas Monthly and Spin. These pieces are based on his personal interviews with their subjects as well as in-depth research. Expertly written with flair, the book is a musical waltz across Texas.Trade ReviewA compelling summary of the breadth and depth of Texas music and a fascinating survey of stories and personalities."" - Robert Hardy, author of A Deeper Blue: The Life and Music of Townes Van Zandt ""Corcoran is masterful at incorporating personal narrative into reportage in a way that is both engaging and informative."" - Cathy Brigham, co-editor of Handbook of Texas Music""Corcoran's book is the work of a rock and roll detective . . ."" - Peter Stothard, The Times of London""All Over the Map is indispensable for anyone interested in Texas music or Texas history."" - Eddie Wilson, founder of the Armadillo World Headquarters""All Over the Map tells the story of Texas music that needed to be told, as broad and deep, dark and quirky as the state itself. These are the compelling stories of the artists and individuals who created a musical cultural that defies the usual stereotypes."" - Terry Lickona, producer, Austin City Limits""[Corcoran] profiles 42 Texas acts from, well, all over the state: Janis Joplin and Gatemouth Brown in East Texas, Geto Boys and DJ Screw in Houston, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Butthole Surfers (from 1986) and Calvin Russell in Austin. It's sharp, informative stuff from a guy who well and truly loves this state."" - Austin American-Statesman

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Book SynopsisThe musical career of Alexander Tumanov extends from Stalinist and Soviet Russia through contemporary Canada, and as such provides an inspiring portrait of one person's devotion to his art under trying circumstances. Tumanov was a founding member of Moscow's Madrigal Ensemble of early music, which introduced Renaissance and Baroque music to the Soviet Union. The Ensemble enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, despite occasional official disapproval by the Soviet bureaucracy. At times the compositions of the group's founder, Andrei Volkonsky, were banned. Volkonsky eventually emigrated to escape the oppressive conditions, followed soon after, in 1974, by Tumanov, and the Madrigal Ensemble continued in a changed form under new leaders. The story of the author's subsequent life and career in Canada provides a poignant point of contrast with his Soviet period — at the musical, academic, and political levels. This book is a valuable resource for those interested in the history of music and intellectual life in Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century and is the first published book on the Madrigal Ensemble.

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Book SynopsisThe New Yorker recently referred to Pat Metheny as 'possibly the most influential jazz guitarist of the past five decades.' A native of Lee's Summit, Missouri, just southeast of Kansas City, Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen. By the time he graduated from high school he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz clubs, private clubs, and jazz festivals. Now 66, he attributes his early success to the local musical environment he was brought up in and the players and teachers who nurtured his talent and welcomed him into the jazz community. Metheny's twenty Grammys in ten categories speak to his versatility and popularity. Despite five decades of interviews, none have conveyed in detail his stories about his teenage years. Beneath Missouri Skies also reveals important details about jazz in Kansas City during the sixties and early seventies, often overlooked in histories of Kansas City jazz. Yet this time of cultural change was characterized by an outstanding level of musicianship. Author Carolyn Glenn Brewer shows how his keen sense of ensemble had its genesis in his school band under the guidance of a beloved band director. Drawn from news accounts, archival material, interviews, and remembrances, to which the author had unique access, Beneath Missouri Skies portrays a place and time from which Metheny still draws inspiration and strength.Trade ReviewBrewer presents a very detailed yet balanced view of Metheny's musical growth, and the KC area musicians that were part of that development. That approach gives the reader an insight into the overall KC jazz scene at the time." - Terry Perkins, reviewer for Downbeat magazine

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Book SynopsisAfter he died, Townes Van Zandt found the success that he sabotaged throughout his short life despite the release of sixteen brilliant albums. Since his death, numerous albums both by and in honor of him have been released and many critical articles published, in addition to several books (including Robert Hardy’s A Deeper Blue by UNT Press).For the Sake of the Song collects ten essays on Townes Van Zandt from a variety of approaches. Contributors examine his legacy; his use of the minor key; his reception in the Austin music scene; and an exploration of his relationship with Richard Dobson, with whom he toured as part of the Hemmer Ridge Mountain Boys. An introduction by editors Ann Norton Holbrook and Dan Beller- McKenna provides an overview of Van Zandt’s literary excellence and philosophical wisdom, rare among even the best songwriters.Trade ReviewA tour de force that mirrors Townes’s life and art in spanning the ‘high, low, and in between." - Jason Mellard, author of Progressive Country

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Book SynopsisRimsky-Korsakov’s Harmonic Theory is the first comprehensive study of his concept of harmony that also traces the history of tonal relationships. Larisa P. Jackson describes and examines Rimsky-Korsakov’s distinctive harmonic theory using his Practical Manual of Harmony as a basis, and places it in historical context of nineteenth-century music theory. She explores in great detail a concept of tonal relationships, fundamental to Rimsky-Korsakov’s view of harmony, and relates this to ideas by German theorists of the period and the Russian theoretical tradition.Jackson examines the concept of modulation and of the relationship of keys and presents a model of his tonal space/map extrapolated from his harmonic system. She identifies specific treatises that help to trace ties between German theoretical ideas and Rimsky-Korsakov’s work.Trade Review“This is a significant and interesting piece of research—it makes a noteworthy contribution to the history of music theory and to that of Russian music.”—Richard Taruskin, author of The Oxford History of Western Music and On Russian Music

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Book SynopsisAlthough in 2000 he became the first sideman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, “King Curtis” Ousley never lived to accept his award. Tragically, he was murdered outside his New York City home in 1971. At that moment, thirty-seven-year-old King Curtis was widely regarded as the greatest R & B saxophone player of all time. He also may have been the most prolific, having recorded with well over two hundred artists during an eighteen-year span. Soul Serenade is the definitive biography of one of the most influential musicians of the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. Timothy R. Hoover chronicles King Curtis’s meteoric rise from a humble Texas farm to the recording studios of Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and New York City as well as to some of the world’s greatest music stages, including the Apollo Theatre, Fillmore West, and Montreux Jazz Festival. Curtis’s “chicken-scratch” solos on the Coasters’ Yakety Yak changed the role of the saxophone in rock & roll forever. His band opened for the Beatles at their famous Shea Stadium concert in 1965. He also backed his “little sister” and close friend Aretha Franklin on nearly all of her tours and Atlantic Records productions from 1967 until his death. Soul Serenade is the result of more than twenty years of interviews and research. It is the most comprehensive exploration of Curtis’s complex personality: his contagious sense of humor and endearing southern elegance as well as his love for gambling and his sometimes aggressive temperament. Hoover explores Curtis’s vibrant relationships and music-making with the likes of Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, Isaac Hayes, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Sam Moore, Donny Hathaway, and Duane Allman, among many others.

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Book SynopsisSelected as one of the Best Jazz Books of the Year (2021) by The New York City Jazz Record The New Yorker recently referred to Pat Metheny as “possibly the most influential jazz guitarist of the past five decades.” A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, just southeast of Kansas City, Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen. By the time he graduated from high school he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz clubs, private clubs, and jazz festivals. Now 66, he attributes his early success to the local musical environment he was brought up in and the players and teachers who nurtured his talent and welcomed him into the jazz community.Metheny's twenty Grammys in ten categories speak to his versatility and popularity. Despite five decades of interviews, none have conveyed in detail his stories about his teenage years. Beneath Missouri Skies also reveals important details about jazz in Kansas City during the sixties and early seventies, often overlooked in histories of Kansas City jazz. Yet this time of cultural change was characterized by an outstanding level of musicianship.Author Carolyn Glenn Brewer shows how his keen sense of ensemble had its genesis in his school band under the guidance of a beloved band director. Drawn from news accounts, archival material, interviews, and remembrances, to which the author had unique access, Beneath Missouri Skies portrays a place and time from which Metheny still draws inspiration and strength.

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Book SynopsisGrammy Award–winning pianist, bandleader, and composer Cedar Walton (1934–2013) is a major figure in jazz, associated with a variety of styles from bebop to funk and famous for composing several standards. Born and raised in Dallas, Walton studied music in Denver, where he jammed with musicians such as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. In 1955, Walton moved to New York, immediately gaining recognition from notable musicians and nightclub proprietors. When Walton returned to the U.S. after serving abroad in the Army, he joined Benny Golson and Art Farmer’s Jazztet. Later, he became both pianist and arranger for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Next, he worked as part of Prestige Records’s house rhythm section, recording with numerous greats and releasing his own albums. One hallmark of Walton’s impact is his numerous long-term collaborations with giants such as trombonist Curtis Fuller and drummer Billy Higgins. By the end of his career, Walton’s discography, as both band member and bandleader, included many dozens of vaunted recordings with some of the most notable jazz musicians of the 1960s through the first decade of the twenty-first century. Ben Markley conducted more than seventy-five interviews with friends and family members, musicians who played with or were otherwise influenced by Walton, and industry figures such as club owners. Musicians interviewed include such stars as Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, and Ron Carter. Walton’s wife Martha shared her extensive archives of photos, ephemera such as fliers and tour itineraries, and letters.

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Book SynopsisIn Music from the Hilltop, Benjamin A. Kolodziej studies three significant academic musical figures to weave a narrative that not only details the role musical studies played in the development of Southern Methodist University but also relates a history of church music and pipe organs in Dallas, Texas. Bertha Stevens Cassidy (1876–1959), the first organ professor and the only woman on the faculty of the new university, established herself as a leader and veritable dean of the church music community, managing a career of significant performances and teaching. Her student and protÉgÉ, Dora Poteet Barclay (1903–1961), broadened the pedagogical horizons for her students. Many of her own students achieved great professional heights as performers and church musicians.Robert Theodore Anderson (1934–2009) was intellectually able to bridge the gap between the theologians of the Methodist seminary and the performers at the Meadows School of the Arts. He consulted with the Dallas Symphony to prepare for the installation of an organ in the new Meyerson Symphony Center—an organ that would influence concert hall instruments in subsequent decades.

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Book SynopsisPearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready collects his eclectic archive of Polaroid photographs into a stunning hardcover volume

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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 SynopsisWhen a jazz hero dies, rumors, speculation, gossip, and legend can muddle the real cause of death. In this book, Frederick J. Spencer conducts an inquest on how jazz greats lived and died pursuing their art. Forensics, medical histories, death certificates, and biographies divulge the way many musical virtuosos really died. An essential reference source, Jazz and Death strives to correct misinformation and set the story straight. Reviewing the medical records of such jazz icons as Scott Joplin, James Reese Europe, Bennie Moten, Tommy Dorsey, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, and Ronnie Scott, the book spans decades, styles, and causes of death. Divided into disease categories, it covers such illnesses as ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), which killed Charlie Mingus, and tuberculosis, which caused the deaths of Chick Webb, Charlie Christian, Bubber Miley, Jimmy Blanton, and Fats Navarro. It notes the significance of dental disease in affecting a musician's embouchure and livelihood, as happened with Joe ""King"" Oliver. A discussion of Art Tatum's visual impairment leads to discoveries in the pathology of what blinded Lennie Tristano. Heavy drinking, even during Prohibition, was the norm in the clubs of New Orleans and Kansas City and in the ballrooms of Chicago and New York. Too often, the musical scene demanded that those who play jazz be ""jazzed."" After World War II, as heroin addiction became the hallmark of revolution, talented bebop artists suffered long absences from the bandstand. Many did jail time, and others succumbed to the ravages of ""horse."" With Jazz and Death, the causes behind the great jazz funerals may no longer be misconstrued. Its clinical and morbidly entertaining approach creates an invaluable compendium for jazz fans and scholars alike. Frederick J. Spencer is a professor and associate dean emeritus of the School of Medicine (Medical College of Virginia) at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, American Journal of Public Health, and Modern Medicine, among other publications.

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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 SynopsisEvery album and every song ever released by the Beatles - from "Please Please Me" (U.S. 1963) to "The Long and Winding Road" (U.S. 1970) - is dissected, discussed, and analyzed by two music historians in this lively, fully illustrated work.All the Songs delves deep into the history and origins of the Beatles and their music. This first-of-its-kind book draws upon decades of research, as music historians Margotin and Guesdon recount the circumstances that led to the composition of every song, the recording process, and the instruments used.Here, we learn that one of John Lennon's favorite guitars was a 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri, which he bought for £100 in 1960 in Hamburg, Germany. We also learn that "Love Me Do," recorded in Abbey Road Studios in September 1962, took 18 takes to get right, even though it was one of the first songs John and Paul ever wrote together. And the authors reveal that when the Beatles performed "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, John's microphone wasn't turned on, so viewers heard only Paul singing.The hundreds of photographs throughout the book include rare black-and-white publicity stills, images of Beatles instruments, and engaging shots of the musicians in-studio.All the Songs is the must-have book for the any true Beatles fan.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is the second of the thirteen in preparation that will offer the first complete scholarly edition of the poetry and music of Guillaume de Machaut, the foremost practitioner of these related arts at the end of the Middle Ages in France. It provides a freshly prepared edition based on the most reliable manuscript of two of Machaut's best known dits, the Remede de Fortune (Remedy for Fortune) and the Confort d'ami (Consolation from a Friend), both of which adapt the central ideas of Boethian philosophy to the love poetry tradition. The French texts are accompanied by facing English translations, and the musical passages are presented in situ in a performance-accessible form.Table of ContentsIntroduction Art History Commentary by Domenico Leo Introduction to Music by Uri Smilansky The Boethian Poems 1. Le Remede de Fortune 2. Le Confort d'Ami Explanatory Notes Textual Notes Notes to the Music by Uri Smilansky

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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 SynopsisA full-length study of two of Berlioz's most unique works, which combine the highest goals of both symphony and opera and incorporate two of the greatest classics of Western literature into a total fusion of the arts. This work studies two works that are among the most challenging of the entire Romantic Movement, not least because they assault the notion of genre: they take place in a sort of limbo between symphony and opera, and try to fulfillthe highest goals of each simultaneously. Berlioz was a composer who strenuously resisted any impediments that stood in the way of complete compositional freedom. Most of his large-scale works nevertheless obey the strictures of some preexistent form, whether opera or symphony or mass or cantata; it is chiefly in these two experiments that Berlioz allowed himself to be Berlioz. One of the central characteristics of Romanticism is the belief that all arts are one, that literature, painting, and music have a common origin and a common goal; and this book tries to show that Berlioz achieved a Gesamtkunstwerk, a fusion of arts, in a manner even more impressive (in certain respects) than that of Wagner, in that Berlioz implicated into his total-art-work texts by two of the greatest poets of Western literature, Shakespeare and Goethe. The method of this book is unusual in that it pays equally close attention to the original text [Romeo and Juliet and Faust] as well as to the musical adaptation; furthermore, it suggests many analogues in the operatic world which Berlioz knew -- the world of Gluck, Mozart, Mehul, Spontini, Cherubini -- in order to show exactly how Berlioz followed or flouted the dramatic conventions of his age. This book aims to contribute to Berlioz studies, to studies of the Romantic Movement, and to the rapidly growing field of comparative arts. Daniel Albright is Richard L. Turner Professor in the Humanities at the University of Rochester.Trade ReviewAlbright has written a literary essay of great originality and charm, appealing to undergraduates through faculty, general readers, and professionals in both music and the humanitites. * CHOICE *Albright's work will inform and entertain admirers of Shakespeare, Goethe, and Berlioz alike. -- Julian Rushton, West Riding Professor of Music, University of LeedsThe rhetoric is comfortable, modern, familiar. . . 132 affable, inviting pages. . . of its originality there can be no doubt. * OPERA QUARTERLY *The originality of Albright's work lies in his unusual capacity to read texts and listen to music with a similar degree of sensitivity and insight and to detect the deeper resonance in structure and signification between the two without compromising their individuality. * THE EUROPEAN ROMANTIC REVIEW, December 2003 *This is a wonderful, concise, and compact discussion of two interesting and complex musical works of the Romantic period, exploring the historical and dramatic backgrounds of two of the more popular literary stories in human history. While written from the scholarly perspective, this book is easy to read and not overly technical in its presentation. -- Dr. Brad Eden * OPERATODAY.COM *Table of ContentsShakespeare's Romeo and Juliet From Shakespeare to Berlioz Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette Goethe's Faust From Goethe to Berlioz Berlioz's La damnation de Faust

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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 SynopsisExplores Wagner's lengthy stays in Venice, his death there, and the meaning of his works -- and his death -- for that great city and its mystique. Richard Wagner had a longstanding love affair with the city of Venice. His sudden death there in 1883 also initiated a process through which Wagner and his reputation were integrated into Venice's own cumulative cultural image. In Wagner and Venice, John Barker examines the connections between the great composer and the great city. The author traces patterns of Wagner's visits to Venice during his lifetime, considers what the city came to meanto Wagner, and investigates the details surrounding his death. Barker also examines how Venice viewed Wagner, by analyzing the landmark presentation of Wagner's Ring cycle two months after the composer's death, and by consideringVenice's subsequent extensive Wagner celebrations and commemorations. Throughout the volume, biographical detail from new and previously unavailable sources provides readers with a fresh interpretation of this seminal figure.Those already familiar with Wagner's life will find new information about, and insights into, the man and his career, while simultaneously discovering a neglected corner of Italian and Venetian cultural history. John W. Barker is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in Medieval (including Venetian) History. He is also a passionate music lover and record collector, and an active music critic and journalist.Trade ReviewThe strength of this study is to have assembled a series of works by fourteen -- mostly German-language -- authors, . . . many [of which] have remained outside the reach of mainstream audiences but deserve renewed critical analysis. Succeeds in drawing attention to a vast body of Wagner fiction, in the process correcting some distorted assumptions. . . . Barker probes in nuanced ways [Egon Gunther's] 'postmodern' sensibility. Cosima's character picture itself receives some nuanced reassessment. -- Rolf J. Goebel * MONATSHEFTE *As the author of a book on Wagner's death in Venice, John Barker is well poised to survey the many works of fiction on the topic, most of which are unknown to the Wagner community. In the interplay between his analysis and excerpts from the novels, Barker gives loving detail to the divergence from reality in these fictional accounts. The material is fascinating and opens many doors for the musicological community. --Karen Painter, author of Symphonic Aspirations: German Music and Politics, 1900-1945 -- Karen Painter, author of Symphonic Aspirations: German Music and Politics, 1900-1945A huge amount of material not previously available first-hand observations and analyses. The amount of detail here is astonishing. Forty-six black-and-white photos bring people and places to life. . . . A loving tribute to Wagner and Venice. -- Charles H. Parsons * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *Throughout his book Barker makes effective use of newspaper archives. . . . Barker's 'assimilative source study' has now largely filled the critical gap [regarding the disputed biographical documents collected in 1883 by Henriette Perl]. . . . [The book is marked by] the author's palpable enthusiasm for and knowledge of both Wagner and Venice. -- David Cormack * MUSICAL TIMES *It was in Venice that Wagner composed much of the second act of Tristan und Isolde, with its ecstatic love duet, and it was in Venice that he died two and a half decades later. Charting the composer's own love affair with La Serenissima over that period has been the quarter-of-a-century mission of John W. Barker, who sifts the plethora of eye-witness accounts with a forensic skill that brings to light all manner of fascinating documentary detail. A book to be relished by lovers of Wagner, of Venice, or of both. -- Barry Millington, Author of Wagner, editor of The Wagner Compendium, and coeditor of Selected Letters of Richard WagnerTable of ContentsPrologue: A Letter to Ludwig The First Encounter From Visit to Vacation From Residence to Mortality Venice in Wagner's Eyes Watching Mourning Remembering: A German for the Germans Remembering: An Italian for the Italians Italy, Venice, and "Wagnerism" The "Wandering Wagnerians" Today the Fenice, Tomorrow all Italy Venetian Assessments Memory and Commemoration Surviving Significance Addenda

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Book SynopsisUniquely revealing interviews with one of the world's greatest living composers. György Kurtág (b. 1926) is widely regarded as one of the foremost composers in the second half of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first. Born in Romania, he received crucial training in Paris from Olivier Messiaen and Marianne Stein. He was also shaped by his broadening contact there with the music of Webern and such challenging literary works as the plays of Samuel Beckett. After many years in Hungary, teaching at the Budapest Academy of Music,Kurtág settled near Bordeaux with his wife Márta. The two regularly perform duo-recitals of his music. In 2006, his . . . concertante . . . (2003, for violin, viola and orchestra) won the coveted Grawemeyer Award for MusicComposition. This unique set of interviews with Kurtág, alone or with his wife, gives a fascinating insight into the composer's personality, which is marked by shyness but also an unquenchable thirst for impressions of every kind [artistic, natural and human]. The two speak with disarming openness about their lives -- the background against which masterpieces like Messages of the Late Miss R. V. Troussova (1976-80, for soprano and chamber orchestra) or Stele (1994, for orchestra) were written. The analysis of certain of Kurtág's works, especially of . . . concertante . . ., shows the way that his mind works: no system, no dogma, no formulae -- rather, basic human emotions expressed through means that speak directly to the listener's innermost feelings. The Hungarian music publisher Bálint András Varga has spent nearly forty years working for and with composers.He has published several books, including extensive interviews with Lutoslawski, Berio, and Xenakis.Trade ReviewOffers telling insights . . . [on the] linkage between teaching and communicating, teaching and composing. . . . Reach[es] to the core of Kurtag's essential expressionism. . . . [Kurtag's] tributes to [Ligeti] provide . . . the shrewdest, clearest-eyed judgment of his friend's achievements. 'Mementos of a friendship' . . . is as artfully assembled as any of Kurtag's compositions. -- Arnold Whittall * MUSICAL TIMES *Like many of Kurtág's finest pieces, [this book] is short but densely packed. In three extended interviews with Varga, the composer provides piercing insights into a vast range of music and addresses his own work with startling clarity, candor, and humility. He also delivers three tributes to his longtime friend György Ligeti, revealing more of Ligeti's psychology and creativity than any commentator in print. -- Alex Ross * THE NEW YORKER *Read the full review at http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/alexross/2009/10/gyorgy-kurtag.html * . *This book provides a fascinating and unique insight into the life, mind, and personality of the Hungarian composer György Kurtág [.] this volume surely will play a significant role in enhancing and enlightening the way we experience Kurtág's music, both as listeners and as scholars. MUSIC & LETTERS, May 2011 * . *An important introduction to the music and the personality of this unique composer. -- Pierre BoulezA uniquely sensitive look at Kurtág's extraordinary work, character, and personality. --Kent Nagano, General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera and Orchestra and Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra * . *Table of ContentsIntroduction: A Portrait Sketch of György Kurtág in Three Sittings Three Questions to György Kurtág (1982-1985) The Three Questions Again (1996) Key Words (2007-2008) Mementos of a Friendship: György Kurtág on György Ligeti A Brief Biography of György Kurtág Personalia List of Works Discography Notes Bibliography Index

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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 SynopsisPresents case studies of "inspiration" in five composers -- Wagner, Mahler, Furtwängler, R. Strauss, and Berg -- examining how the supposedly extrarational world of creative inspiration intersects with the highly rational world ofmoney and politics. Lies and Epiphanies offers case studies of "inspiration" in five composers -- Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg. Their own tales of their epiphanies played a determining role in the reception history of their works: the finale of Mahler's Second Symphony was supposedly born of a "lightning bolt" of inspiration at the funeral of Hans von Bülow, while Alban Berg's Violin Concerto was purportedly his direct response to the tragic early death of Alma Mahler's daughter. Chris Walton looks behind these tales to explore instead the composer's dual role as author and self-commentator, laying bare the fissures and inconsistencieswithin these artists' testimonies and revealing how the putatively extrarational world of creative inspiration intersects with the highly rational world of money and politics. As Walton points out, the composer often imposes on the audience an interpretation of a work and its genesis that is as superficial as the score itself is not. This study seeks to show why. Chris Walton teaches music history at the Basel University of Music in Switzerland.He is the author of Othmar Schoeck: Life and Works (University of Rochester Press, 2009) and Richard Wagner's Zurich: The Muse of Place (Camden House, 2007).Trade ReviewWell-cited, the book reads like a crime novel, and each of the five accounts is told as a story . . . Walton delves into the field of inspiration and influence, inherently muddy with speculation, clad with the best possible armor of research and inquiry. * MUSIC REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY *An illuminating read where one is transported back to the lives and times of composers who were, and still are regarded as the greats in Germanic music. * STRINGENDO *Chris Walton's engaging study is concerned instead with inspiration in its engendering aspect. Having laid a variety of myths to rest, he is cautious about going too far: 'we should also be prepared to regard apparent mendacities [. . . ] as allegories that allow us alternative, symbolic points of access to an understanding of complex, barely understandable phenomena' (p.133). These are wise words with which to conclude this excellent and elegantly written study. * WAGNER JOURNAL *His theme is the seeking out of the conflicts and ironies that arise when musicians attempt to negotiate between their blessedly non-conceptual chosen medium and the real world in which they attempt to lead their lives. Walton takes understandable pleasure in cutting these giants of artistic endeavour down to size. At the same time, he avoids strenuously moralistic debunking. * MUSICAL TIMES *Chris Walton offers a fascinating exploration of the stories his chosen composers -- German Romantics from Wagner to Strauss -- have told about inspiration. His conclusion is powerful, even moving, but no less important are his portraits of these still-looming figures. -- -- Paul Griffiths, author of The Substance of Things Heard: Writings about MusicIf we are unsurprised to learn that Wagner lied about the sources of his inspiration in order to intensify the pseudo-religious aura of his work, we may be disappointed to discover that Berg was significantly more friendly to Austrofascism than has been generally recognized, or that Richard Strauss repeatedly reinvented himself to best profit from the ruling power -- whether the Kaiser, Hitler, or the Americans. In this important book, Walton debunks the myths of inspiration invented by composers and their canonizers in the contexts of power and money. -- -- Timothy L. Jackson, Distinguished University Research Professor of Music, College of Music, University of North TexasTable of ContentsIntroduction Richard Wagner's Dynastic Dreams Gustav Mahler's Resurrection and the Apostolic Succession Of Forked Tongues and Angels: Alban Berg's Violin Concerto Wilhelm Fürtwangler and the Return of the Muse Here Comes the Sunset: The Late and the Last Works of Richard Strauss Postlude: The Telephone Call Notes Bibliography Index

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