Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger Review



John Bird's acclaimed biography of the Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger gives the first full account of the life and works of one of the strangest figures in twentieth-century music. Behind Grainger's highly original compositional achievements, folksong collecting, and glittering career as a virtuoso concert pianist lay a tragic and chaotic personal life--long domination by his mother, unorthodox sexual predilections, an eccentric athleticism, a demonic spiritual drive, and a wildly inconsistent personal philosophy with Anglo-Saxon obsessions such as his famous "Blue-Eyed English." A list of published compositions, a current discography of performances by Grainger, and a selection of his seminal writings complete what has already proved to be a standard work.
This fully revised edition includes much new biographical material from John Bird's continuing research. Grainger's reputation and popularity as a uniquely individual composer continue to grow, and this book remains the definitive biography.


Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Golden Age of Indianapolis Theaters

The Golden Age of Indianapolis Theaters Review



The Golden Age of Indianapolis Theaters Feature

  • ISBN13: 9780253354600
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Opening a window on a storied past, longtime Indianapolis television journalist and lifelong theatergoer Howard Caldwell presents the story of the magnificent theaters of Indianapolis. Caldwell shares with us the pleasure these majestic spaces brought to thousands of Hoosiers during their glory days -- when an outing to the theater was a special event and film was still a marvel of technology. He discusses the roles played by the greatest stars of the day and relates the origins of Indy's famous theaters: the Murat, the Circle, the Indiana, the English, and the Lyric, to name a few. Caldwell points out which theaters featured burlesque shows and vaudeville routines, explores the traditions of regional and national theater productions, notes when the first motion pictures and talkies came to town, and highlights old time musical reviews and symphonic performances. Vividly illustrated with rare photos and anecdotes, The Golden Age of Indianapolis Theaters celebrates the city's rich theater tradition.

(2010)


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Music Lessons: Guide Your Child to Play a Musical Instrument (and Enjoy It!)

Music Lessons: Guide Your Child to Play a Musical Instrument (and Enjoy It!) Review



Named one of Publishers Weekly's Best 100 Books of 2006.
 
Providing guidance for parents who want their children to enjoy learning to play a musical instrument, this resource teaches parents the best ways to encourage children's musical talents. Key guidance is provided for the trickiest hurdles of all: helping children learn how to practice and navigating their impulse to quit by encouraging them to take pride in their progress despite the frustrations of the learning process. Commonly taught methods—including Suzuki, Kodaly, Dalcroze training, and the Orff approach—and instrument selection are discussed in detail, as are tips for choosing the right teacher. Up-to-date resources and references for youth orchestras, national and regional organizations, outreach programs, and school advocacy organizations, and supplementary materials for various ages and stages of ability, are provided.


Friday, August 26, 2011

Strategies for Success in Band & Orchestra

Strategies for Success in Band & Orchestra Review



Leaders in band and orchestra education offer strategies to meet the challenges of high quality instrumental programs.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Influence of European Literary and Artistic Representations of the 'Orient' on Western Orchestral Compositions, ca. 1840-1920: From Oriental Inspiration to 'Exotic' Orchestration

The Influence of European Literary and Artistic Representations of the 'Orient' on Western Orchestral Compositions, ca. 1840-1920: From Oriental Inspiration to 'Exotic' Orchestration Review



A comprehensive survey of the major sources of inspiration for Western composers who sought to infuse their musical works with an 'Eastern' flavor. It discusses the aesthetic, philosophical, political, geographical, literary and historical forces at work during the period.

THE AUTHORS' FOUNDATION / ROYAL LITERARY FUND AWARD WINNER 2011 (UK)

Companion volume from the same publisher:
Literary Sources of Nineteenth-Century Musical Orientalism: The Hypnotic Spell of the Exotic on Music of the Romantic Period


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Sinfonie giovanili (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas)

Sinfonie giovanili (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas) Review



The four overtures in this volume display Rossini's extraordinary talent at the threshold of his career. Composed before his eighteenth birthday, they show him developing orchestral skills that served him throughout his life. The Sinfonia del Conventello and the Sinfonia obbligata a contrabbasso were written for performance at "Il Conventello," the estate of his patron Agostino Triossi, and feature the cello and double bass. The Sinfonia in D and the Sinfonia in E-flat were composed at the Liceo Filarmonico in Bologna, where Rossini was a student from 1806 to 1809. Their public performances showed them to be much more than classroom exercises, and Rossini later reworked the E-flat overture for his opera La cambiale di matrimonio.

None of these overtures survives in Rossini's hand. (In his late years, Rossini confided that he had left a number of "little things" with Triossi, who had probably used them "to wrap salami.") The critical edition has recovered the first two from recently identified manuscript copies, the others from incomplete sets of parts.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Improving Intonation in Band and Orchestra Performance

Improving Intonation in Band and Orchestra Performance Review



Improving Intonation in Band and Orchestra Performance Feature

  • Published by Meredith Music 88 Pages
  • by Robert J. Garofalo
  • Composer: Robert Garofalo
The most comprehensive yet practical intonation book ever written. Includes tuning guides and intonation charts for all instruments.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution, 1890-1950 (Studies in Industry and Society)

Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution, 1890-1950 (Studies in Industry and Society) Review



Between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century, technology transformed the entertainment industry as much as it did such heavy industries as coal and steel. Among those most directly affected were musicians, who had to adapt to successive inventions and refinements in audio technology—from wax cylinders and gramophones to radio and sound films. In this groundbreaking study, James P. Kraft explores the intersection of sound technology, corporate power, and artistic labor during this disruptive period.

Kraft begins in the late nineteenth century's "golden age" of musicians, when demand for skilled instrumentalists often exceeded supply, analyzing the conflicts in concert halls, nightclubs, recording studios, radio stations, and Hollywood studios as musicians began to compete not only against their local counterparts but also against highly skilled workers in national "entertainment factories." Kraft offers an illuminating case study in the impact of technology on industry and society—and a provocative chapter in the cultural history of America.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Beating Time: A Musician's Memoir

Beating Time: A Musician's Memoir Review



In this charming memoir, Harry Ellis Dickson, one of Boston's most beloved and energetic musicians, recollects his long and illustrious life and career. The son of Russian immigrants, Dickson was violinist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for fifty years and Assistant Conductor for Arthur Fiedler's Boston Pops. With humor and warmth, he shares reminiscences and anecdotes about family and friends, colleagues, travels, and the Boston Symphony, including reflections on the presidential campaign of his son-in-law Michael Dukakis and his daughter Kitty's struggles with alcoholism.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

A Composer's Insight, Volume 3: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band

A Composer's Insight, Volume 3: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band Review



A Composer's Insight, Volume 3: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band Feature

  • Published by Meredith Music 303 Pages
  • Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band by Timothy Salzman
  • Author: Timothy Salzman
A Composer's Insight, Volume 3 - with a foreword by John Corigliano - is the third in a five-volume series on major contemporary composers and their works for wind band. Included in this initial volume are rare, "behind-the-notes" perspectives acquired from personal interviews with each composer. An excellent resource for conductors, composers or enthusiasts interested in acquiring a richer musical understanding of the composers' training, compositional approach, musical influences and interpretative ideas. Features the music of: Richard Rodney Bennett, Warren Benson, Roger Cichy, John Corigliano, David Holsinger, Roger Nixon, Bernard Rands, Philip Sparke, Frank Ticheli, Michael Weinstein, and John Zdechlik.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Jeux d'enfants, WD 56 - Study score

Jeux d'enfants, WD 56 - Study score Review



In 1873, Bizet arranged five movements from his 1871 suite for piano duet for a new series of orchestral concerts organized by the publisher Georges Hartmann and the conductor Edouard Colonne at the Odeon Theatre in Paris. The premiere took place there on March 2nd of that year and the "Petite suite d'orchestre" entered the repertoire soon afterwards. This newly engraved score has been carefully edited by Richard Sargeant from the first edition and other primary sources. Printed in a very convenient, highly readable format, the new edition will be welcomed by orchestral musicians and Bizet fans worldwide.


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Treasury of Scales for Band and Orchestra: 1st E-Flat Alto Saxophone

Treasury of Scales for Band and Orchestra: 1st E-Flat Alto Saxophone Review



The Treasury of Scales includes all major and minor scales in harmonized form -- 96 total. Scales are harmonized in SATB format. The harmony and tempo conditions give the conductor material to teach tone, balance, and intonation. It's easy to use because so many of the instruments are playing the exact same lines. Treasury of Scales should be in every band folder as a permanent part of the repertoire and used daily as a warm-up exercise.


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Accent on Composers (Book & CD)

Accent on Composers (Book & CD) Review



Accent on Composers (Book & CD) Feature

  • Book & CD Pages: 120
  • By Jay Althouse and Judy O'Reilly
  • Format Book & CD
A complete music appreciation course in one, 120-page, reproducible book/CD package. For each of the 22 featured composers there is a bio (focusing on his or her personal life), a portrait, a listing of the types of music he or she composed, composer factoids, and a time line. The CD contains a listening example for each composer. The reproducible listening guide includes information about each listening example and a second by second "what to listen for in the music." Also included are reviews (tests) for each composer, plus more than two dozen pages of supplementary material. And it's all reproducible! Composers include: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Copland, Debussy, Handel, Joplin, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, Mozart, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and MORE!


Saturday, August 13, 2011

Inside John Haynie's Studio: A Master Teacher's Lessons on Trumpet and Life

Inside John Haynie's Studio: A Master Teacher's Lessons on Trumpet and Life Review



". . . a treasure of insight into the mind and heart of one of our great American performers and teachers. If the Arban book is the trumpet player's 'Bible,' then I'd have to say Inside John Haynie's Studio is the trumpet teacher's 'Bible.'"--Ronald Romm, founder, Canadian Brass, and professor of trumpet, University of Illinois

"The essays in this remarkable volume go far beyond trumpet pedagogy. . . . John's concern for educating the whole person, not just cramming for the job market, emanates from every page. This book showcases a teaching career that has become legendary."--James Scott, dean of the College of Music, University of North Texas

"The principle that pervades my entire educational philosophy did not come from education or psychology classes; it did not come from the many sermons preached by my Dad and hundreds of other pulpiteers. It came from John Haynie's studio."--Douglas Smith, Mildred and Ernest Hogan Professor of Music, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary


Friday, August 12, 2011

Music Radio: The Great Performers and Programs of the 1920s through Early 1960s

Music Radio: The Great Performers and Programs of the 1920s through Early 1960s Review



Long before the invention of "talk radio," music was the heart and soul of radio programming--whether standing alone, filling in the time between features, or identifying to widespread audiences the shows coming on and signing off the air. Jim Cox's Music Radio encompasses the entire range of musical programming from the early 1920s to the early 1960s. Jazz, country, classical, gospel, pop, big band, western, and semi-classical forms are covered, as are the vocalists, instrumentalists and disc jockeys who made them available to listeners. Virtually all the major series and artists are explored in depth, and lesser known shows and performers are touched on as well. Some of the series included are The Bing Crosby Show, The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, The Fred Waring Show, Grand Ole Opry, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Cities Service Concerts, Your Hit Parade, The Kate Smith Show, The Railroad Hour, and The Voice of Firestone.


Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll

The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll Review



The first history of the network of black juke joints that spawned rock 'n' roll through an unholy alliance between vice and entertainment.

A definitive account of the birth of rock 'n' roll in black America, this book establishes the Chitlin' Circuit as a major force in American musical history. Combining terrific firsthand reporting with deep historical research, Preston Lauterbach uncovers characters like Chicago Defender columnist Walter Barnes, who pioneered the circuit in the 1930s, and larger-than-life promoters such as Denver Ferguson, the Indianapolis gambling chieftain who consolidated it in the 1940s. Charging from Memphis to Houston and now-obscure points in between, The Chitlin' Circuit brings us into the sweaty back rooms where such stars as James Brown, B. B. King, and Little Richard got their start. With his unforgettable portraits of unsung heroes including King Kolax, Sax Kari, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lauterbach writes of a world of clubs and con men that has managed to avoid much examination despite its wealth of brash characters, intriguing plotlines, and vulgar glory, and gives us an excavation of an underground musical America. 34 black-and-white illustrations


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Those Amazing Musical Instruments! with CD: Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories

Those Amazing Musical Instruments! with CD: Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories Review



Those Amazing Musical Instruments! with CD: Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories Feature

  • ISBN13: 9781402208256
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
From the cello to the clarinet to the trumpet to the drums, Those Amazing Musical Instruments! takes readers on a musical tour, with notes on the history, construction and sounds of the instruments from each of the major instrument "families." They can see the parts of the violin working together, read about the flute in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," or hear the different sounds of the tuba on the included CD-ROM. This interactive CD-ROM includes individual musical samples giving readers an audible taste of each instrument, as well as full orchestra pieces showing how they play together.

Those Amazing Musical Instruments! features noted conductor Marin Alsop as kids' guide to the instruments, offering helpful comments and tips throughout the book.