Today's Hours:
Noise Uprising by
A radically new reading of the origins of recorded music Noise Uprising brings to life the moment and sounds of a cultural revolution. Between the development of electrical recording in 1925 and the outset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, the soundscape of modern times unfolded in a series of obscure recording sessions, as hundreds of unknown musicians entered makeshift studios to record the melodies and rhythms of urban streets and dancehalls. The musical styles and idioms etched onto shellac disks reverberated around the globe: among them Havana's son, Rio's samba, New Orleans' jazz, Buenos Aires' tango, Seville's flamenco, Cairo's tarab, Johannesburg's marabi, Jakarta's kroncong, and Honolulu's hula. They triggered the first great battle over popular music and became the soundtrack to decolonization.
Robert Schumann by
Arguably no other nineteenth-century German composer was as literate or as finely attuned to setting verse as Robert Schumann. Jon W. Finson challenges long-standing assumptions about Schumann's Lieder, engaging traditionally held interpretations. He argues against the belief that the "Year of Song" simply reflects Schumann's personal life. Finson also devotes attention to the form and metric structure of German poetry that is almost entirely new to the discussion of Schumann's songs. Arranged in part thematically, rather than merely by strict compositional chronology, this book speaks to the heart of Schumann's music. Finson's sustained attention to performance, such as questions of whether two singers might divide performance of cycles or whether miscellanies form coherent entities, allows the reader to engage Schumann's songs in novel ways. Finson brings original research and the most recent scholarship to the musically literate public and the expert alike. This represents the definitive work on Schumann's songs and the standard reference for any Schumann enthusiast.
Everybody Says Freedom by
"Filled with beautiful music, glorious lyrics, and the soul of one of the most important historical and social revolutions of our history." -- Judy Collins This narrative scrapbook collects forty songs and includes profiles of activists and a chronological outline of the extraordinary events from 1955 to 1968. It is a story of courage and resilience on the part of ordinary people. From 'This Little Light of Mine' to 'We Shall Overcome,' the music of the time was both encouragement and catharsis for those who struggled against adversity in an effort to change the world. In words, photographs, and music, Pete Seeger and Bob Reiser tell the story of the civil rights movement, building their narrative around the accounts of people involved and the songs that inspired their struggle. It documents the sit-ins, freedom rides, and marches that occurred along the long path to triumph in an uncertain age.
Dreaming in Ensemble by
A revelatory new account of Black innovation in American opera, showing how composers, performers, and critics redefined the genre both aesthetically and politically in the early twentieth century. The inauguration of a "golden age" in Black opera is often dated to 1955, when Marian Anderson became the first Black singer to perform in a leading role at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Yet Anderson's debut was actually preceded by a rich Black operatic tradition that developed in the first half of the twentieth century. Lucy Caplan tells the stories of the Black composers, performers, critics, teachers, and students who created this vibrant opera culture, even as they were excluded from the genre's most prominent institutions. Their movement, which flourished alongside the Harlem Renaissance, redefined opera as a wellspring of aesthetic innovation, sociality, and antiracist activism. Caplan argues that Black opera in the early twentieth century had decidedly countercultural ambitions. In opera's sonic grandeur and dramatic maximalism, artists found creative resources for expressing the complexity of Black life. The protagonists of this story include composers Harry Lawrence Freeman and Shirley Graham, whose operas boldly interpreted Black diasporic history; performers Caterina Jarboro and Florence Cole-Talbert, who both starred in the racially fraught role of Aida; and critics Sylvester Russell and Nora Holt, who wrote imaginatively about the genre in the Black press. Yet Caplan also focuses on the many Black students, amateurs, opera house staff, and listeners who contributed indelibly to opera's meanings. With the creation of new companies, choruses, and audiences, opera not only circulated in the Black public sphere but itself became a public sphere with radical potential.
His Way by
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . With a new afterword by the author in honor of Frank Sinatra's 100th birthday This is the book that Frank Sinatra tried-but failed-to keep from publication, and it's easy to understand why. This unauthorized biography goes behind the iconic myth of Sinatra to expose the well-hidden side of one of the most celebrated-and elusive-public figures of our time. Celebrated journalist Kitty Kelley spent three years researching government documents (Mafia-related material, wiretaps, and secret testimony) and interviewing more than 800 people in Sinatra's life (family, colleagues, law-enforcement officers, friends). The result is a stunning, often shocking expose of a man as tortured as he was talented, as driven to self-destruction as he was to success. Featuring a new afterword by the author, this fully documented, highly detailed biography-filled with revealing anecdotes-is the penetrating story of the explosively controversial and undeniably multitalented legend who ruled the entertainment industry for fifty years and continues to fascinate to this day. Praise for His Way "The most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time."-The New York Times "A compelling page-turner . . . Kitty Kelley's book has made all future Sinatra biographies virtually redundant."-Los Angeles Herald Examiner
Declassified by
"A refreshingly fun guide" that reads "as if you're a fly on the wall in conservatory auditions, cutthroat competitions and the obsessive practice routines of professional musicians." (The New York Times) Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch's life-long fascination with classical music has taken her through Juilliard and into the shiny world of symphony halls and international concert tours. She's loved classical music her whole life. But she's also hated classical music her whole life. After all, if you can like Beyoncé without liking Bieber, you can certainly like Brahms without liking Bach--especially since they were born 148 years apart and the thing we call "classical music" is really just centuries of compositions shoved into one hodge-podge of a genre. In Declassified, Warsaw-Fan Rauch blows through the cobwebs of elitism and exclusion and invites everyone to love and hate this music as much as she does. She offers a backstage tour of the industry and equips you for every listening scenario, covering: the 7 main compositional periods (even the soul-crushingly depressing Medieval period), a breakdown of the instruments and their associated personality types (apologies to violists and conductors), what it's like to be a musician at the highest level (it's hard), how to steal a Stradivarius (and make no money in the process), and when to clap during a live performance (also: when not to). Declassified cheekily demystifies the world of High Art while making the case that classical music matters, perhaps now more than ever.
Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience by
The stories of the Black men and women who combated racial prejudice in Washington, DC, with sports and music In the Nation's Capital, music and sports have played a central role in the lives of African Americans, often serving as a barometer of social conflict and social progress?for sports clubs and ball games, jam sessions and concerts, offered entertainment, enlightenment, and encouragement. At times, they have also offered a means of escape from the harsh realities of everyday life. Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience tells the story of these musicians and athletes who have used their skills and their determination to achieve success in the face of discrimination. Jackson begins with pioneers such as James Reese Europe, who formed the first musicians' union and fought as a member of the Harlem Hellfighters in World War I, and ends with giants of the twentieth century, such as Duke Ellington and Georgetown University basketball coaching legend John Thompson Jr. Readers interested in the history of Washington, DC, the civil rights movement, racial justice, music, and sports will draw important lessons from these stories of the Black men and women who found in sports and music spaces to combat racial prejudice and bring people in the District of Columbia together.
I Heard There Was a Secret Chord by
Music is one of humanity's oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind. In his latest work, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music) explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He brings together, for the first time, the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain. Levitin is not your typical scientist--he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today's most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history. The result is a work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and jubilant celebration. I Heard There Was a Secret Chord highlights the critical role music has played in human biology, illuminating the neuroscience of music and its profound benefits for those both young and old.
Julie Reisserová (1888-1938) by
Regarded as the 'first Czech woman composer of importance' by the Grove Dictionary in 1954, Julie Reisserová's name has since virtually disappeared from the musical and musicological landscape. Reisserová, one of Albert Roussel's most famous Czech students during the interwar period, was not only a successful composer in her time, but also an active feminist. Her music was generally well received and performed by prestigious musicians. The only comprehensive study of her life and work, published in 1948, was written by Jiřina Vacková. If Vacková was able to investigate the personal archives of the diplomat Jan Reisser - Reisserová's husband - before they were seized and/or destroyed by the communist regime, her book remains hagiographical. This Element draws up a new biographical sketch of the artist, reviews Reisserová's thoughts on the status of women composers between the wars, considers the reception of her six surviving scores, and examines her style.
Music in the Eighteenth Century by
John Rice's Music in the Eighteenth Century takes the reader on an engrossing Grand Tour of Europe's musical centers, from Naples, to London, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and St. Petersburg --with a side trip to the colonial New World. Against the backdrop of Europe's largely peaceful division into Catholic and Protestant realms, Rice shows how "learned" and "galant" styles developed and commingled. While considering Mozart, Haydn, and early Beethoven in depth, he broadens his focus to assess the contributions of lesser-known but significant figures like Johann Adam Hiller, Francois-André Philidor, and Anna Bon. Western Music in Context: A Norton History comprises six volumes of moderate length, each written in an engaging style by a recognized expert. Authoritative and current, the series examines music in the broadest sense--as sounds notated, performed, and heard--focusing not only on composers and works, but also on broader social and intellectual currents.