Publication date from vendor record. Reprint. Originally published: Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2011. Originally issued with sound recording. Includes bibliographical and discographical references and index.
Contents:
Music. William Schumann. Biography -- Music. Exploratory phase ; Early style-period ; Middle style-period ; Late style-period -- Vincent Persichetti. Biography. Persichetti as teacher ; Twentieth-century harmony: creative aspects and practice -- Music. Works for keyboard. Piano solo. Sonatas for piano ; Sonatinas for piano ; Serenades for piano ; Music for piano students ; Additional music for piano solo -- Music for two pianists ; Music for piano and orchestra ; Harpsichord ; Organ -- Works for orchestra. Symphonies ; Other works for orchestra -- Works for band ; The serenades ; The parables ; Opera ; Chamber music. String quartets, piano quintet, piano trio ; Other chamber music ; Choral music ; Vocal music -- Peter Mennin. Biography -- Music.
Summary:
William Schuman, Vincent Persichetti, and Peter Mennin were three of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, yet their music has largely disappeared from view since their respective deaths. Because they each spent the majority of their careers working at the Juilliard School and Lincoln Center, their music is often viewed as "interchangeable." In this book, the author provides a thorough examination of the lives and work of these artists, clarifying their considerable individuality both as composers and as human beings. The book begins with a comprehensive introduction summarizing the conventional view of the history of American music, while noting the marginalization of traditionalist composers, those who preferred to work with the musical forms and developmental principles on which the body of Western classical music is based. In the chapters that follow, each composer is presented through a brief overview and a biographical essay, followed by a general description of his style. Extensively researched and including detailed discussions and insights, the sections include lists of the composer's "most representative, fully realized works" and then provide systematic overviews of most or all of their compositions, giving the reader a general understanding of the artist and his work. The overviews contain a description of each composition, information concerning first performance and first recording, excerpts from reviews as well as Simmons' own critical assessment of each, and a statement of its place within the composer's output as a whole. A selected bibliography and essential discography follows at the end of each chapter.
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