Tag Archives: books

conducting opera

Conducting Opera: Where Theater Meets Music

conducting opera

Conducting Opera discusses operas in the standard repertory from the perspective of a conductor with a lifetime of experience performing them. Author Joseph Rescigno, of Local 802 (New York City), opens with a chapter discussing his performance philosophy, then covers operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, Bizet, Puccini, and Strauss. The book includes practical advice about propelling a story forward, how to support singers, and staying true to the styles discussed.

Conducting Opera: Where Theater Meets Music, by Joseph Rescigno, University of North Texas Press, https://untpress.unt.edu.

women at the piano

Women at the Piano: Solo Works by Female Composers of the Nineteenth Century

women at the piano

Women at the Piano sheds light on the unheard music and untold story of female composers of the 19th century, offering not only pristine editions of neglected and forgotten musical works, but also insights into the historical context of which these remarkable pieces emerged. Includes selections from Clara Wieck-Schumann, Maria Wolowska-Szymanowska, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and many others.

Women at the Piano: Solo Works by Female Composers of the Nineteenth Century, edited by Nicholas Hopkins, Carl Fischer, www.carlfischer.com.

music: a subversive history

Music: A Subversive History

music: a submersive history

Historian Ted Gioia reclaims the story of music for the riffraff, insurgents, and provocateurs from the celebrated mainstream assimilators. Gioia tells a 4,000-year history of music as a global source of power, change, and upheaval. He shows how social outcasts have repeatedly become trailblazers of musical expression: slaves and their descendants, for instance, have repeatedly reinvented music, from ancient times all the way to the jazz, reggae, and hip-hop sounds of the current day.

Music: A Subversive History, by Ted Gioia, Basic Books, www.basicbooks.com.

Suite Francaise No 3

Jean-Sebastien Bach: Suite Francaise No 3 (for Two Guitars)

Suite Francaise No 3

This transcription of Bach’s Third French Suite offers a particularly good example of the potential of the guitar duo in terms of polyphonic or rhythmic writing and ornamentation. This suite—from the famous “Six French Suites”—was composed at the end of the Bach’s stay at the Köthen court. Bach’s knowledge of (and interest in) French harpsichord music and technique is evident throughout the Suite.

Jean-Sebastien Bach: Suite Francaise No 3 (for Two Guitars), transcribed by Jean Horreaux, Gerard Billaudot, www.billaudot.com.

canyon shadows

Canyon Shadows

canyon shadows

Canyon Shadows is inspired in large part by the Grand Canyon of the American Southwest. Hoover envisioned an ancient time when natives first came across this geological wonder. For this vision, she sought to combine a Native flute with the modern silver flute, native music with “western” music, and bringing forth natural sounds through music notation.

Canyon Shadows, by Katherine Hoover, Papagena Press, www.presser.com.

still: for two guitars

Still: for two guitars

still: for two guitars

In this classical guitar duet, Frederic Hand, a member of Local 802 (New York City), considers a short, long-held figure passed from one guitarist to the other even as the resonance fades to stillness. From this, the piece develops into a luscious, melodic duo. Hand describes the writing, “After they were passed a few times from one guitar to the other, I began exploring a second theme, a melody in stepwise motion.”

Still (for Two Guitars), by Frederic Hand, Theodore Presser Company,
www.presser.com.

the beautiful ones

The Beautiful Ones

the beautiful ones

The posthumous memoir by Prince, a longtime member of Local 30-73 (St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN), is the story of how Prince became Prince—a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. Written in his own words, the book features never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and an introduction by editor Dan Piepenbring about his collaboration with Prince in the artist’s final months.

The Beautiful Ones, by Prince, Spiegel & Grau, www.penguinrandomhouse.com.

jazz concertino

Jazz Concertino: for solo flute and flute ensemble

jazz concertino

Peter Senchuk, of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA), had long held a desire to venture into the jazz realm in composing, and his new Concertino was the perfect excuse. Though he avoids any use of improvisation, he says he “relied heavily on jazz melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structures.” The Concertino opens with a long, free solo, encouraging the artist’s individuality, with the ensemble slowly gaining ground as the work progresses.

Jazz Concertino (for solo flute and flute ensemble), by Peter Senchuk, Forest Glade Music Publishing, www.forestglademusic.com.