Tag Archives: books

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.

hungarian march

Franz Schubert: Hungarian March and Rondo

hungarian march

Webster’s arrangement focuses on Schubert’s “Divertissement à l’hongroise, D.818,” a rather lengthy affair that can exceed half an hour to perform. The third movement does not lend itself to a setting for flute, clarinet, and piano, but Webster has faithfully transcribed the first two movements (in reverse order) as an excellent example of the influence of Hungarian music on Schubert’s writing.

Franz Schubert: Hungarian March and Rondo, arranged by Michael Webster, Theodore Presser Company, www.presser.com.

practizma practice journal

Practizma Practice Journal: 16 Weeks of Efficiency, Empowerment and Joy for Musicians

practizma practice journal

The Practizma Practice Journal by Susanna Klein, of Local 123 (Richmond, VA), allows users to track their practice, reinvigorate practice, and enjoy the journey of being a musician. The journal is designed for amateurs, students, and professionals of all instruments. The book includes 16 weeks of goal setting, 16 reflection prompts, 16 action challenges, practice ideas, injury prevention strategies, efficiency tips, and practice journal pages.

Practizma Practice Journal: 16 Weeks of Efficiency, Empowerment and Joy for Musicians, by Susanna Klein, Practice Blitz LLC, www.practizma.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.

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.

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.