Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, during the first quarter of the 20th century, Alabama-born organist and composer Lee Orville Erwin, like many of the 20th century s great American composers, spent time studying in Paris. From 1930 until 1931 Erwin studied in France with organist Andre Marchal and the harmony teachers Jean Verd and Nadia Boulanger. This formative experience greatly shaped his compositional style and aesthetic. Upon returning to the United States, Erwin began his lengthy career in radio and television working with Arthur Godfrey. In 1967, Erwin was commissioned by the American Theater Organ Society to compose organ music for the Gloria Swanson film Queen Kelly. It was this film that led his career back into the consoles of the great American theater organs. He toured extensively, playing thousands of concerts of organ music during silent film showings. He thus ushered in the silent film revival, continuing the genre of live music performance accompanying film. Erwin, believing that cue sheets originally compiled for these films during the silent film era were full of the musical cliche s of the 1920s, composed new scores to over 100 silent films. An American Organist in Paris presents Lee Orville Erwin's letters from France to his family in 1930-1931. In these letters, Erwin recounts his daily experiences and encounters with some of the 20th century's greatest musicians and teachers. He writes of his lessons with Marchal, Verd, and Boulanger and dinner parties with Olivier Messiaen. Erwin's letters not only provide the singular experiences of a young musician but also reflect the common experiences shared by the multitude of American composers who studied in France during this time. These letters are extensively footnoted to provide clarity and background information of the locations and personalities discussed. A biographical chapter on Erwin, which outlines his extensive musical career and impact on the silent film music revival in the 20th century, is also included. This book will serve as a unique glimpse into the life of one of America's most prolific composers for the theater organ.

Conductors John Yaffe and David Daniels have created a one-stop sourcebook for orchestras, opera companies, conductors, and librarians who research and/or prepare programs of vocal excerpts-such as solos, ensembles, and choruses-for concert performance. In this book, readers will find detailed information on a vast repertoire of vocal pieces commonly extracted from operas, operettas, musicals, and oratorios-more than 1,750 excerpts from 450 parent works. Modeled on Daniels' Orchestral Music, Arias, Ensembles, & Choruses includes basic historical details about each parent work as well as extract titles, subtitles, voice types, keys, durations, locations in the original work (with page numbers in both full scores and piano-vocal scores), and exact instrumentation. It also lists the publishers that make available the orchestral materials for just the excerpt being programmed, independent of the full parent work. Until now, conductors and orchestra librarians commonly had to first leaf through full scores, searching for one elusive three-minute aria after another, only to then consult multiple publishers' catalogues to compile crucial information on all the excerpts proposed for a concert or recording. This book constitutes a single source for finding that information. In many cases, the individual entries include valuable insider information on common performance practice, including start- and stop-points, transpositions, and conventional cuts. Searching for repertoire is made easy with the detailed title index and appendixes devoted to ensemble excerpts, all categorized by personnel (e.g., duets, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, choruses) and language (Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian). This book is the ideal tool for the working conductor and orchestral librarian, as well as music program directors at colleges and conservatories, opera companies, and symphony orchestras. As of October 2015, a new printing of this book has occurred to correct errors in the index. A PDF version of the new index is available to previous purchasers of the volume. Please contact Rowman & Littlefield's music editor for assistance.

As part of Scarecrow Press's Music Finders series, this go-to reference source provides pertinent information about the standard repertoire of works heard today in the great concert halls and recorded by the most prominent professionals. Drawing on extensive research of musical programs performed on the world's stages, Nardolillo selects only those works performed and recorded by great performers and regularly studied in conservatories by students of leading pedagogues. Organized alphabetically by composer, each entry in The Canon of Violin Literature includes the title, date of composition, date and performer of premiere, key, duration, instrumentation, and movements of the work. In addition, entries include brief notes offering historical, technical, and performance information crucial to study of the work. Finally, each entry offers information on the publishers, editions, and editors of the sheet music, concluding with a list of several recordings by famous artists and recommended books for further information about the piece. Appendixes include a chronological listing of the works, a grouping by genre, an index of piece titles, an index of performers, and a bibliography of other reference books for violinists. In addition to hard-to-find information on premieres, commissions, and editions, The Canon of Violin Literature supplies performers and teachers with the name of the violinist who provided fingerings and bowings for each edition, as well as accurate dates for when the work was edited. The Canon of Violin Literature is for performers of violin repertoire; private teachers and college professors in need of a guide to help them assign appropriate works for students' recitals, juries, and competitions; and chamber series directors, musicologists, and editors planning concert seasons, creating programs, and writing liner notes for recordings.

In Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble Repertoire, Dirk Meyer provides conductors, musicians, and librarians with all the information needed to plan their performances of modern chamber music. Meyer lists almost 4,000 works written during the 20th and 21st centuries, representing more than 1,100 composers. Entries are divided into three categories: Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Ensemble. Presented alphabetically by composer, each entry fully describes the composition, including its duration, year of composition, availability, publisher, and complete instrumentation. The comprehensive appendix allows users to search for repertoire based on a variety of criteria, such as instrumentation, duration, solo instruments, and solo voices. As a catalog of modern music, the appendix also provides categories for 21st-century repertoire as well as compositions that use electronics.

The Technic is Fun series offers piano students a series of graded studies for the development of technic, style, and musicianship. These studies reinforce the technical requirements found in method books and in standard piano repertory. The etudes found in this series not only build technic and musicality but have been carefully selected to provide refreshing recital repertoire as well as to develop a strong musical and technical foundation.

Titles: Mary Had a Little Lamb (Folk Song) * Fireflies (Children's Song) * Kagome Kagome (Children's Song) * Cuckoo (Folk Song) * Lightly Row (Folk Song) * Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Variations (Suzuki-Takahashi) * Go Tell Aunt Rhody (Folk Song) * Amaryllis (J. Ghys) * Allegro (Shinichi Suzuki) * The Honeybee (Folk Song) * Long, Long Ago (T.H. Bayly) * Lullaby, Op. 98, No. 2 (F. Schubert) * The Moon over the Ruined Castle (R. Taki) * Minuet, Minuet III from Suite in G Minor for Klavier, BWV 822 (J.S. Bach) * Minuet, BWV Anh. II 114/Anh. III 183 (J.S. Bach) * Minuet, BWV Anh. II 116 (J.S. Bach) * Bourr?e from Sonata No. 3 in G Major for Flute and Basso Continuo, Op. 1, No. 5, HHA IV/3 No. 5 (G.F. Handel) * Fingering Chart. This title is available in SmartMusic.

In Sonata Fragments, Andrew Davis argues that the Romantic sonata is firmly rooted, both formally and expressively, in its Classical forebears, using Classical conventions in order to convey a broad constellation of Romantic aesthetic values. This claim runs contrary to conventional theories of the Romantic sonata that place this nineteenth-century musical form squarely outside inherited Classical sonata procedures. Building on Sonata Theory, Davis examines moments of fracture and fragmentation that disrupt the cohesive and linear temporality in piano sonatas by Chopin, Brahms, and Schumann. These disruptions in the sonata form are a narrative technique that signify temporal shifts during which we move from the outer action to the inner thoughts of a musical agent, or we move from the story as it unfolds to a flashback or flash-forward. Through an interpretation of Romantic sonatas as temporally multi-dimensional works in which portions of the music in any given piece can lie inside or outside of what Sonata Theory would define as the sonata-space proper, Davis reads into these ruptures a narrative of expressive features that mark these sonatas as uniquely Romantic.

The Classical Guitar Companion is an anthology of guitar exercises, etudes, and pieces organized according to technique or musical texture. Expert author Christopher Berg, a veteran guitar instructor, bring together perspectives as an active performing artist and as a teacher who has trained hundreds of guitarists to encourages students to work based on their own strengths and weaknesses. The book opens with "Learning the Fingerboard," a large section devoted to establishing a thorough knowledge of the guitar fingerboard through a systematic and rigorous study of scales and fingerboard harmony, which will lead to ease and fluency in sight-reading and will reduce the time needed to learn a repertoire piece. The following sections "Scales and Scale Studies", "Repeated Notes", "Slurs", "Harmony", "Arpeggios", "Melody with Accompaniment", "Counterpoint" and "Florid or Virtuoso Etudes" each contain text and examples that connect material to fingering practices of composers and practice strategies to open a path to interpretive freedom in performance. The Classical Guitar Companion will serve as a helpful companion for many years of guitar study.

In 2007, the great Bach scholar Anne Leahy died at the age of 46. She was a leading light in Bach studies and lecturer at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Conservatory of Music and Drama. Posthumously edited by renowned Bach scholar Robin A. Leaver, Leahy's dissertation research forms the basis for this original study of the preludes to Bach's Leipzig chorales. Originally composed in Weimar and later revised in Leipzig, Bach's compositions have been a source of some puzzlement. As Leahy notes, "the original intentions of Bach and the possible purpose of this collection might be regarded as speculative." Working from available sources, however, she argues that through the careful examination of the links among the music, hymn texts, and theological sources some answers may be had. From Bach's personal and deep interest in Lutheran theology to his enormous musical passion, Leahy considers closely a series of critical questions: does the original manuscript for the chorales simply reflect a random gathering of compositions or is there a common theme in setting? How critical is the order of the chorales and what is the theological significance of that order? Were the chorales a unified collection, and if so, which parts were to be included and which not? Indeed, were the chorales themselves part of a possibly larger corpus? As Leahy makes evident, there are no simple answers, which is why she considers critical the relationship the texts of the hymns to the chorales and to one another, outlining a theological pattern that is vital to fully grasping the guiding philosophy of these compositions. J. S. Bach's "Leipzig" Chorale Preludes: Music, Text, Theology is ideally suited for Bach scholars and those with a general interest in the intricate connections between text and music in the composition of religious music.

Anton Rubinstein, a seminal figure in Russian music, was not only a great pianist but also a monumental influence in Russian music education. Rubinstein is responsible for laying the groundwork for Russia's tertiary educational system for the training of musicians and for establishing the use of Western structural forms in Russian music. He later became the foundation director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Detailing Rubinstein's pianistic and conducting repertoire, this work provides insight into Russian nineteenth-century performance practice, and the biography presents a sober assessment of Rubinstein's place in history. The author has researched valuable Russian sources to make this assessment of Rubinstein available in English and has provided informative guidelines for further research.

In attempting to reinstate Rubinstein as an important figure in the history of Russian and international music, this study makes available to conductors and musicologists updated information on an important nineteenth-century music figure and an aspect of Russian music that has either been forgotten or ignored. Researchers and scholars will appreciate the annotated thematic catalog that includes all of Rubinstein's many works for piano, the extensive repertoire lists, and the extensive bibliography.

Play 10 favourites from the critically acclaimed musical Hamilton. This collection features carefully-crafted piano solo arrangements from the music penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Including Burn, Helpless and My Shot, all the pieces are fun to play and faithful to the original performances. The show debuted on Broadway in August 2015 to unprecedented advanced box office sales and has become one of the most successful stage musicals ever.

In The Craft of Piano Playing, master pianist Alan Fraser offers readers an original and comprehensive approach to piano technique, offering over 100 illustrations and a series of unique exercises to guide the reader. Drawing on his many years as a performer and teacher, his long-standing collaborations with pedagogue Phil Cohen and virtuoso Kemal Gekich, and his professional training in the Feldenkrais Method, Fraser introduces his truly innovative piano technique by * Teaching how to move your hands with greater sensitivity, power, and accuracy, and honing the skeletal alignments to help you access your innate, structural potency; * Linking your physical technique to musical expression, creating an "absolutely natural way of moving at the piano that is powerful, flexible, and musical" (Piano News, Germany); and * Keeping your hands healthy while avoiding the threats of tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, focal dystonia, and RSI. This revised second edition joins the DVD of the same name, his study guide, and his latest book, Honing the Pianistic Self-Image, in Alan Fraser's growing line of piano pedagogical materials. This edition includes new chapters, such as "Arm Rhythm" and "The Body's Support of Natural Finger Shape," updated material reflecting evolutions in Fraser's technical and pedagogical thinking, a "cleaner and leaner" literary style, and more extensive, better-organized tables of contents, with cross-references to corresponding chapters in the DVD. For more information please visit www.maplegroveproductions.com, www.craftofpiano.com, or www.alanfraser.net

As the 1970s gave way to the 80s, New York's party scene entered a ferociously inventive period characterized by its creativity, intensity, and hybridity. Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor chronicles this tumultuous time, charting the sonic and social eruptions that took place in the city's subterranean party venues as well as the way they cultivated breakthrough movements in art, performance, video, and film. Interviewing DJs, party hosts, producers, musicians, artists, and dancers, Tim Lawrence illustrates how the relatively discrete post-disco, post-punk, and hip hop scenes became marked by their level of plurality, interaction, and convergence. He also explains how the shifting urban landscape of New York supported the cultural renaissance before gentrification, Reaganomics, corporate intrusion, and the spread of AIDS brought this gritty and protean time and place in American culture to a troubled denouement.

Separating fact from fiction, this book explores how the legendary violinist challenged the very notion of what it meant to be a musician. Our inherited image of Nicolo Paganini as a 'demonic violinist' has never been analysed in depth. What really made him 'demonic'? This book investigates the legend of Paganini. Separating fact from fiction, it explains how the virtuoso violinist challenged the very notion of what it meant to be a musician. Mai Kawabata considers Paganini's performance innovations, violin techniques and musical ethos in the light of contemporary attitudes towards musicand the supernatural, gender, sexuality, violence, heroism and masculinity as well as conceptions of power. The many perceptions of Paganini as demonic - Faust, magician, devil, rake/libertine, Napoleon - were inter-related but not equivalent. A swirl of cultural factors coalesced in the performer to create that phenomenon of Romanticism, a larger-than-life Gothic villain. Kawabata shows how the idea of virtuosity spiralled out of control, acquiring a potent, overwhelmingly negative aura in the process, as the mythology surrounding Paganini outlived and outgrew the man to monstrous proportions. An appendix brings together late nineteenth-century British press and literature coverage of Paganini that contributed to the developing myth surrounding the now famous composer and performer. MAI KAWABATA is Lecturer in Music at the University of East Anglia and a professional violinist.

No musical entity has been more closely associated with EGuitar WorldE magazine over the years than Edward Van Halen a the man who in the late seventies and early eighties changed the course of guitar history. This collection of classic and new interviews with the great Edward tells the real story behind his earth-shaking technique brilliant songwriting and relationship with both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. This is the authoritative book a revised and updated with new exclusive interviews and information on one of the greatest rock bands of all time and the guitar god at the center of it all.

"How to Play Guitar" contains everything the new or intermediate guitar player needs to know to really get to grips with making music on this most popular of instruments. Highly practical, it leads you from the basics of how to strum, pick and play simple chords, through the various elements of playing rhythm and melodies, to more complicated chords and tunings. It includes further techniques from slurs to harmonics, and a section on performing. The clear text is accompanied by illustrative photos and diagrams, and the guide is complemented by a useful chord finder, examples of scales and modes, a glossary and further reading.

This is the first history of the harp in Scotland to be published. It sets out to trace the development of the instrument from its earliest appearance on the Pictish stones of the 8th century, to the present day. Describing the different harps played in the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland, the authors examine the literary and physical evidence for their use within the Royal Courts and "big houses" by professional harpers and aristocratic amateurs. They vividly follow the decline of the wire-strung clarsach from its links with the hereditary bards of the Highland chieftains to its disappearance in the 18th century, and the subsequent attempts at the revival of the small harp during the 19th and 20th centuries. The music played on the harp, and its links with the great families of Scotland are described. The authors present, in this book, material which has never before been brought to light, from unpublished documents, family papers and original manuscripts. They also make suggestions, based on their research, about the development and dissemination of the early Celtic harps and their music. This book, therefore, should be of great interest, not only to harp players but to historians, to all musicians in the fields of traditional and early music, and to any reader who recognises the importance of these beautiful instruments, and their music, throughout a thousand years of Scottish culture.

This book starts at the very beginning and ends with some remarkably profound insights on conductorial subtleties. An experienced conductor is one in whom detection, diagnosis, and remedy take place simultaneously; as he hears the error, he realizes where the fault lies and what to do about it. This book gives valuable hints about these three basic conductorial functions from the viewpoint of chorus and orchestra alike. McElheran leads the student toward mastery of the problems at hand, with firmness and gentle humour.

Johana Harris was a musical prodigy who began her education in her native Canada, then moved to New York at the age of 12. The youngest student ever admitted to the Juilliard Graduate School of Music, Harris was destined for greatness on the world stage. However, exploitation by her mother and then by her husband Roy Harris, coupled with the prejudice shown women during the mid-20th century kept her from achieving that pinnacle. Johana Harris: A Biography brings to light the life of an unheralded musical genius, as well as providing new information on her husband Roy Harris, about whom very little is known. This revealing look at the lives of two important musicians who were referred to in the middle years of the last century as "Mr. and Mrs. American Music" is the first book published about these two people.

The Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble (TTTE) is one of the most successful performing collegiate ensembles in history, with an enviable record of 25 recording projects, seven Carnegie Hall appearances, two World's Fairs performances, numerous national and international conference engagements, and a performance history in venues like Preservation Hall in New Orleans, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and the Kennedy Center in Washington. The Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble and R. Winston Morris: A 40th Anniversary Retrospective lists all of these events and more. It tells how Morris founded an ensemble comprised only of tubas and euphoniums (the "underdogs" of the orchestra) and catapulted it to international recognition, establishing and defining the standards for tuba ensemble performance practices and creating a monumental influence on both the tuba and music education throughout the world. The book provides a biography of Morris that includes the influences that led to the development of the TTTE, and it describes the early years of the ensemble and its development as one of the most recognizable groups of its kind. Several lists of reference information specific to Morris and the group and general to tuba and euphonium music are offered. Details about concerts, performances, activities, and recordings of the ensemble are presented, as well as recordings, awards, honors, and publications by Morris. Former members of the group are listed and pictured in more than 85 photos comprising a photographic history. Winston and the TTTE are responsible for the composition and arrangement of more music for the tuba than any other single source, and a comprehensive list of those works is supplied here."