Search results for ""Author Heidi Gunden""
Scarecrow Press The Music of Vivian Fine
A piano child prodigy, Vivian Fine (1913-2000) composed her first piece in 1926 at thirteen while studying harmony with Ruth Crawford. At age 16, her music was performed in Chicago, New York, and Germany. Unlike many prodigies, Fine's early brilliance persisted, and over the course of a 70-year career she became one of America's most highly regarded composers. Fine was a member of Aaron Copland's Young Composers Group and a participant at the first Yaddo Festival in 1932. Henry Cowell was an early supporter who published her scores in New Music. Although perhaps best known for her chamber music, Fine wrote in virtually every genre, including large-scale symphonic and choral works. Her earliest work is highly dissonant, followed by more tonal compositions during her nine years of study with Roger Sessions. After 1946 she returned to a freer mode of expression, which Wallingford Riegger described as "tempered atonality." Despite early recognition of her genius, Fine experienced obstacles as a female composer and often felt alone and isolated from the world of prominent musicians. Finally, at age fifty-six, she was appointed to the faculty at Bennington College. Her years there, surrounded by a faculty eager to perform her work, were some of the happiest and most productive of her life. In 1980 she was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1983 her Drama for Orchestra was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. Renowned musicologist Heidi Von Gunden's concise, lively biography of Fine's life includes an insightful analysis of dozens of musical compositions. Useful resources include a chronology, complete catalog of works, discography, and bibliography. Impeccably researched, The Music of Vivian Fine is essential reading for anyone interested in Fine's music, and a great resource for students of 20th Century American music.
£109.35
Scarecrow Press The Music of Ben Johnston
Ben Johnston is an American composer internationally known for his work with extended just intonation. This is a critical-analytical study of his early compositions, his studies with Harry Partch and John Cage, and his experiments with just intonation, serialism, indeterminacy, jazz, and finally, extended just intonation. Pieces are analyzed and biographical material is included. The main emphasis of the text, however, is on examining Johnston's research about tuning and scalar theory as it relates to just intonation. For a long time Johnston worked in isolation; few people understood why someone would want to change the standard pitch system. But gradually, as his music began to be heard, especially his string quartets, performers and audiences experienced for themselves the kind of clarity and beauty that is possible with just intonation. This book is written for readers of varying musical backgrounds. Thos interested in studying and performing Johnston's music will find the book helpful in understanding his notational system and learning how to listen for just intervals. Many examples and figures document the musical analyses, which explain his compositional techniques. With a foreword by John Cage, a catalog and discography of Johnston's music, and a bibliography of the composer's writings.
£77.00
