Description
Book SynopsisThe Conservatoire Américain, the French musical institution at the Palais de Fontainebleau, was responsible for training generations of American musicians. Its students and faculty are among some of the most influential musical figures of the twentieth century, including Aaron Copland, Nadia Boulanger, and Elliott Carter. Within its walls, students were introduced to great French composers like Maurice Ravel, Jean Françaix, and Darius Milhaud, many of whom wrote works specifically for Fontainebleau attendees. It brought performers into the recording age and encouraged women to pursue solo musical careers at a time when such a thing was exceptionally rare among Americans. The Conservatoire Américain: A History is the first full-length narrative of this institution. Drawing on rare materials from the Conservatoire''s archives, combining them with personal correspondence, interviews, and first-person narratives with students and faculty, author Kendra Preston Leonard discusses a variety
Trade ReviewAmericans seeking specialized training in composition or performance had to go to Europe to find it, primarily to Germany until World War I made that impossible. The Paris Conservatoire provided the desired training, but generally was not open to foreigners, so a conservatory especially for Americans was established that paralleled and often drew instructors from the Paris Conservatoire. Many now well known composers and performers attended. Leonard, a music scholar specializing in international exchange and women in music, traces the history of the institution from its founding in 1921 to the present. * Reference and Research Book News *
Kendra Preston Leonard has finally covered the famed Conservatoire Américain in the detail it deserves. We have known for years that many important American composers and musicians studied there, but the institution's complete history has never been told. Leonard covers it from its founding after World War I, through its high moments before World II, in exile in the United States, in Nadia Boulanger's long and controversial directorship, and in the difficult years following her death. Leonard explains why the Conservatoire Américain is now a shadow of what it once was and how it has changed in the face of the many other summer festivals and schools now available to students. This book is an important read for anyone interested in American music of the twentieth century, the training of American composers, and in music education in general. -- The University of Kansas, Paul Laird, Director of Musicology Division, The University of Kansas, author of Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research.
Solid scholarship is evident in The Conservatoire Americain: A History. Kendra Leonard provides the welcome documentation of an organization that dominated the training of American composers and musicians from its inception until World War II. -- Roberta Lindsey, Assistant professor and advisor, Music Concentration Program, Indiana University-Indianapolis
Recommended for large public and academic collections that specialize in music. * Library Journal *
Kendra Leonard's detailed historical study of the Conservatoire Americain provides the most thorough discussion to date of this important institution. It illuminates the triumphs, challenges, and strong personalities of the school's rocky history, expanding our understanding of an important chapter in Franco-American relations. -- E. Douglas Bomberger, Elizabethtown College
Recommended. * CHOICE *
compelling material * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *
Leonard's informative and entertaining account of the history of the Conservatoire Americain is a fine record of its good and bad times, its triumphs and its failures. * Fontes Artis Musicae *
The book's narrative style is assured and lively....No lack of detail is spared in creating a vivid description of daily life at the institution throughout its history....Leonard has successfully and objectively described the portrait of an institution....Leonard's study is a formidable achievement that provides substantial insight into a long-neglected area of scholarship. * American Music *
Table of ContentsPart 1 Acknowledgments Part 2 Introduction Part 3 A Note on Bibliographic Abbreviations Part 4 Prologue Francis Casadesus's Manifesto and the Founding of the Conservatoire Américain (1918-1920) Part 5 Part I: The Institution without Precedent Chapter 6 Chapter 1 The Institution without Precedent (1921-1928) Chapter 7 Chapter 2 The Age of Opulence (1929-1939) Chapter 8 Chapter 3 Interlude 1: Elizabeth Saylor (1939) Part 9 Part II: Exile and War Chapter 10 Chapter 4 At Home in Exile (1940-1945) Chapter 11 Chapter 5 Reconstruction (1946-1948) Chapter 12 Chapter 6 Interlude 2: Gaby Casadesus (1946) Part 13 Part III: "La Belle Dame sans Merci" Chapter 14 Chapter 7 A New Era (1949-1957) Chapter 15 Chapter 8 La Belle Dame sans Merci (1958-1979) Chapter 16 Chapter 9 Interlude 3: Emile Naoumoff (1970s) Part 17 Part IV: "Apres Elle le Deluge" Chapter 18 Chapter 10 "Apres Elle le Deluge" (1980-1987) Chapter 19 Chapter 11 The Schism Opens (1988-1993) Part 20 Part V: The Frog Radio Chapter 21 Chapter 12 The Frog Radio (1994-present) Part 22 Epilogue Nutrisco et Extinguo Part 23 A Note on the Appendixes Part 24 Appendix A A Timeline of the Conservatoire Américain Part 25 Appendix B Curriculum Offered at the Conservatoire Américain Part 26 Appendix C Directors of the Conservatoire Américain Part 27 Appendix D Selected Professors of the Conservatoire Américain Part 28 Appendix E Selected Guest Artists at the Conservatoire Américain Part 29 Appendix F Selected Notable Students of the Conservatoire Américain Part 30 Appendix G Dimplomas and Awards of the Conservatoire Américain Part 31 Bibliography Part 32 Index Part 33 About the Author
