Many of the following listed items have been used in class. Those on MUH Reserve in the UCF Library are so marked; otherwise, the item is in the general stacks of the library. Please remember that your classmates may need access to these items, too. Try not to monopolize items, and return unused items to the UCF Library as soon as you are finisehd with them.
Gilbert Chase, America's Music, from the Pilgrims to the Present (Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 1987). [UCF Library Reserve: ML200 .C5 1987]
Richard Crawford, America's Musical Life (New York : Norton, 2001). [UCF Library Reserve: ML200 .C69 2001]
Charles Hamm, Music in the New World (New York : Norton, 1983). [UCF Library Reserve: ML200 .H17 1983]
H. Wiley Hitchcock, Music in the United States (Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, 2000). [UCF Library Reserve: ML200 .H58 2000]
Broadway: “The American Musical” (Channel Thirteen/WNET New York. 2004) Website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/index.html (Accessed 1 February 2008)
What is modestly understood to be a mere website of a movie is actually a vast fountain of information. PBS’s Broadway: the American Musical goes as far back as 1904 and supplies readers with over 100 years of intriguing data on the history of Broadway. Anyone visiting this site will be introduced to the likes of George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Apart from key composers, directors and producers, there are also choreographers, set designers and performers who played a significant role on Broadway. This website’s chronology is filled with memorable musicals, shows and milestones that are now an important part of history. It would make a great source for a student looking to find a great deal of information on the different aspects of Broadway, or for an avid reader looking for fascinating trivia to share with friends. [D. Rojas]
Gilbert Chase, ed., The American Composer Speaks: A Historical Anthology, 1770-1965 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1966). [x, 318 pp. ISBN 0807103470.]
At the time of its publication, a noticeable vacancy of scholarly resources which emphasized the role of American composers on Western Music History existed. Gilbert Chase’s book was the first of its kind, giving a voice to composers who together comprised two hundred years of our nation’s music history. The usefulness of this book for current students and musicologists is in no way diminished by its age. Its chronological orientation offers a frame of reference for the thirty essays which include everything from autobiographies to treatises on the state of music in the mid-twentieth century. Composers ranging from William Billings to Stephen Foster, Charles Ives to “Jelly Roll” Morton, and George Gershwin to Roger Sessions, write candidly of their experiences. Chase prefaces each of their essays with a brief biographical sketch and completes the volume with a bibliography and index. [T. Miller]
David Ewen, The Life and Death of Tin Pan Alley (New York : Funk and Wagnall's, 1964)
Tin Pan Alley is now a part of American musical history, but for half a century it produced giants among composers and superb, never-to-be-forgotten popular music. During its heyday it was the center of an almost incredible number of brilliant composers and lyric writers as well as vigorous publishers and promoters. In The Life and Death of Tin Pan Alley, this memorable era of outstanding popular songs, of remarkably creative composers, of publishers and song pluggers with unusual initiative and drive, and of brilliant performers who carried songs to audiences, is brought to life in vivid detail. Here, too, is an convincing and interesting review of the development of our popular music: Civil War songs, barbershop harmonies, topical and geographical songs, operettas, ragtime, "mammy" songs, nonsense songs, jazz, the blues-all interwoven with the stories of the composers, publishers, and performers who made our popular music so rich, imaginative, and diversified. [J. Gautier]
Charles Hamm, Yesterdays : Popular Song in America (New York: W. W. Norton, 1979).
Charles Hamm‘s Yesterdays : Popular Song in America charts the history of American popular songs from the 18th century to the mid-1970s. In his discussion of these songs, Hamm discusses the primary music that has had an influence on America. He mentions British concert and stage music as well Italian operatic songs and German songs in the 19th century. Hamm expands on minstrelsy as the beginning of American song writing. Although this book is informative it lacks stability and Hamm does not always connect to the main point of the book. [P. Mason]
Edith J.R. Isaacs, The Negro in the American Theatre (New York: Theatre Arts, Cambridge Press, 1947).
Edith Isaacs identifies four significant moments in the history of blacks in American theatre: the minstrelsy in which Billy Kersands, James Blend, and Sam Lucas became prominent; the turn of the century, which featured comedians Bob Cole, Earnest Hogan, and Bert Williams, the year 1914, which saw the rise and success of Ridgely Torrence’s Granny Maumee; and the 1940s, with Paul Robeson, Duke Ellington’s Beggar Holiday, and last but not certainly least, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. These were thought of by the author as being no longer separate from American theatre as a whole. [M. Terrell]
Scott Miller, Strike Up the Band: A New History of Musical Theatre, (s.l.?: Heinemann Drama, 2006)
In Strike Up the Band, Scott Miller tells the whole story of musicals, revealing their political and social conscience, and chronicling their incredibly rapid evolution over the last century. Strike Up the Band focuses not only on what happened on stage but also on how it happened and why it matters to us today. Miller offers a forward-looking perspective on treasures from each era while also looking at fascinating, genre-busting, and often short-lived productions, to see how even unsuccessful musicals defined and advanced the art form. Miller offers insight and inside information about the artistic approaches various composers, lyricists, book writers, and directors have taken, and how those approaches have changed over time, as well as what social and historical forces continue to shape musical theatre today. [P. Mason]
Don Rayno, Paul Whiteman Pioneer in American Music, Volume 1: 1890-1930 (Oxford: Scarecrow Press, 2003).
Rayno makes a significant contribution to the study of Jazz in his 773-page book on Paul Whiteman. In addition to 19 chapters that detail his band and career, the book also contains a gallery of Whiteman musicians, a chronology, a discography, a general index, index of places, index of songs and concert works, and discography index of composers and lyricists. Of particular interests is Chapter 8, An Experiment in Modern Music that gives a painfully detailed account of the events leading up to the concert in Aeolian Hall from the perspective of Whiteman. There are also accounts of the concert from critics such as Olin Downes as well many of the musicians in the Whiteman band. This is an extraordinary book for any scholar seeking information on the Paul Whiteman band or George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. [K. Strang]
Wilfrid Sheed, The House that George Built: With a Little Help from Irving, Cole and a Crew of About Fifty (??: Random House Trade Paperbacks [Reprint edition], 2008)
Sheed has created a loving, distinctive look at the classic era of American popular song from the "piano era" of Irving Berlin and George Gershwin to the post-World War II era. In this book, he uses a more subjective, casual approach as he looks back at the top tunesmiths of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and Hollywood. In chapters focusing on individual composers, Sheed discusses Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. The essays are delightfully amusing, insightful depictions—certainly not full scholarly biographies. Sheed notes that this is not a work of scholarship (I did not see any footnotes or endnotes). There is, however, "A Note on Sources" listing various dialogues and interviews Sheed has had over the years with songwriters and their acquaintances. While this will not replace any of the many scholarly works on this era or on the individual songwriters, it is a valuable commentary. [J. Gautier]
John Warthen Struble, The History of American Classical Music (New York, NY: Facts On File Inc., 1995)
I found it interesting that a book which is called the history of American Classical music only had roughly 30 pages dedicated to George Gershwin. In my opinion he is by far the best-known and most popular American composer who ever essayed symphonic works and operas. The information listed did however give examples of how Gershwin approached writing his compositions, where he received his inspiration for writing, and how he and his brother would work together to create these incredible masterpieces. This book is designed to give readers a brief history of American composers so it never really goes into great detail about one individual composer. [F. Wosar]
William Young and Nancy Young, Music of the Great Depression, (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005)
From jazz to classical, rock and religious, this remarkable book covers the genres that were important to the impoverished people of the great depression. Music of the Great Depression is actually part of the “American History through Music Series,” which is comprised of books that mark important eras in the United States. Although the book does not go into great detail about the European influence in our music at the time, it specifically focuses on how the social, economic, political and technological influences shaped the music. In a chronological manner, Music of the Great Depression also covers significant music and musicians in all genres and in different mediums, whose main goal was to uplift the spirits of all Americans. Due to our present day situation, it would probably make a great read for today as well. [D. Rojas]
Norbert Carnovale, George Gershwin : A Bio-Bibliography (Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 2000). [UCF Library: ML 134 .G29 C37 2000] [RESERVE] (Review by N. Ladd)
David Ewen, George Gershwin: His Journey to Greatness (Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1970).
Steven E. Gilbert, The Music of Gershwin (New Haven: Yale UP, 1995) [UCF Library: ML 410 .G288 G55 1995] [RESERVE] (Review by I. McLeod)
Isaac Goldberg, George Gershwin : A Study in American Music, New ed. (New York: F. Ungar Pub. Co, 1958). [UCF Library: ML 410.G288 G7 1958] [RESERVE] (Review by K. Sakson)
Rodney Greenberg, George Gershwin 20th-Century Composers (London: Phaidon, 1998). [UCF Library: ML 410.G288 G74 1998] [RESERVE] (Review by M. Penfield)
William G. Hyland, George Gershwin: A New Biography (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2003). [UCF Library: ML 410 .G288 H95 2003] [RESERVE] (Review by J. Martinez)
Edward Jablonski, Gershwin (New York: Doubleday, 1987). [UCF Library: ML410 .G288 J29 1987] [RESERVE] (Review by )
Edward Jablonski, Gershwin Remembered (New York: Doubleday, 1987). [UCF Library: ML 410 .G28 J22 1992] [RESERVE] (Review by K. McCoy)
Edward Jablonski and Lawrence D. Stewart, The Gershwin Years (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1973). [UCF Library: ML 410 .G288 J3 1973] [RESERVE] (Review by Y. Li)
Alan Kendall, George Gershwin (New York: Universe Books, 1987).
Howard Pollack, George Gershwin (Berkeley : University of California Press, 2006). [UCF Library Reserve: ML410.G288 P65 2006] [RESERVE] (Review by B. Clinton)
Joan Peyser, The Memory of All That : The Life of George Gershwin (New York : Simon & Schuster, 1993). [UCF Library: ML410 .G288 P5 1993] [RESERVE] (Review by J. Coleman)
Walter Rimler, A Gershwin Companion: a Critical Inventory and Discography, 1916-1984 (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Popular Culture, Ink., 1991).
Deena Rosenberg, Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin (New York: Dutton, 1991). [UCF Library: ML 410 .G288 R67 1991] [RESERVE] (Review by R. Drexler)
David Schiff, Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997). [UCF Library: ML410 .G288 S27 1997] [RESERVE] (Review by )
Wayne Schneider, The Gershwin Style: New Looks at the Music of George Gershwin (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999). [UCF Library: ML410 .G288 G49 1999] [RESERVE] (Review by A. Briseno)
Charles Schwartz, George Gershwin : A Selective Bibliography and Discography (Detroit: Information Coordinators [for the College Music Society]: 1974). [UCF Library: ML 410 .G288 S39 1974] [RESERVE] (Review by K. Gustafson)
Charles Schwartz, Gershwin: His Life and His Music (Indianapolis & New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1973).
Gregory R. Suriano, Gershwin in His Time : A Biographical Scrapbook, 1919-1937 (New York: Gramercy Books, 1998).
Robert Wyatt and John Andrew Johnson, eds., The George Gershwin Reader (Oxford U Press, 2004). [UCF Library: ML410 .G288 G47 2004] [RESERVE] (Review by S. Purser)
Leonard Bernstein,"Why Don't You Run Upstairs and Write a Nice Gershwin Tune?" The Atlantic Monthly 195/4 (April 1955): 39-42 [Reissued in Leonard Bernstein, The Joy of Music (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1978), 52-62, and Wyatt and J.A. Johnson, eds., The George Gershwin Reader (Oxford U Press, 2004), 293-300.]
Olin Downes, "A Concert of Jazz," New York Times 73 (13 February 1924): 16 [Reprinted in Wyatt and Johnson, pp. 49-51.]
Ira Gershwin, Lyrics on Several Occasions: A Selection of Stage & Screen Lyrics Written for Sundry Situations; and Now Arranged in Arbitrary Categories. To Which Have Been Added Many Informative Annotations & Disquisitions on Their Why & Wherefore, Their Whom-For, Their How; and Matters Associative. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1959.)
Steven E. Gilbert, The Music of Gershwin (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995).
Carol J. Oja, "Gershwin and American Modernists of the 1920's," The Musical Quarterly 78 (1994): 646-668.
Wayne D. Shirley, "Scoring the Concerto in F: George Gershwin's First Orchestration," American Music 3 (1985): 277-298. [available in JSTOR]
Wayne D. Shirley, "The 'Trial Orchestration' of Gershwin's 'Concerto in F'," Notes 39 (1983): 570-579. [available in JSTOR]
"Whiteman Judges Names : Committee Will Decide 'What is American Music"," New York Tribune (4 January 1924) [Reprinted in Wyatt and Johnson, pp. 44-5.]
Paul Whiteman and Mary Margaret McBride, "An Experiment," Jazz (New York: J.H. Sears, 1926) [Reprinted in Wyatt and Johnson, pp. 45-9.]
George & Ira Gershwin, Lady, Be Good! [UCF Library Media Center: M 1500 .G47 L33 1992]
George & Ira Gershwin, Oh,Kay! [UCF Library Media Center: M 1500 .G47 O4 1998]
George & Ira Gershwin, Strike Up the Band [UCF Library Media Center: M 1500 .G47 S77 1991]
Richard Crawford, "It Ain't Necessarily Soul: Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" as a Symbol," Anuario Interamericano de Investigacion Musical 8 (1972): 17-38.
Charles Hamm, "The Theatre Guild Production of 'Porgy and Bess'," Journal of the American Musicological Society 40 (1987): 495-532.
DuBose Heyward, Porgy (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1925).
Lawrence Starr, "Toward a Reevaluation of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess," American Music 2 (1984): 25-37.
Joseph Swain, "America's Folk Opera" (excerpt), The Boradway Musical : A Critical and Musical Survey (New York: Oxford U Pres, 1990), 51-57. [Reprinted in Wyatt and Johnson, pp. 193-201.]
Aaron Copland : A Self-Portrait (Films for the Humanities, 1987) [UCF Media VHS TAPE : ML 410 .C756 A43 1987]
Arthur Berger, Aaron Copland (New York: Oxford UP, 1953; reprinted, New York: Da Capo Press, 1990) [UCF Library: ML 410. C756 B4 1990; also see earlier reprint eds. for 1975 and 1977]
Aaron Copland, Copland on Music (Doubleday & Company, Inc. New York, 1960). [UCF Library: ML 63 .C48 1960]
Aaron Copland, Music and Imagination, The Charles Elliot Norton Lectures, (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 1952). [UCF Library: ML 3853 .C7 1977]
Aaron Copland, The New Music 1900-1960, rev. and enlarged ed. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc, 1968). [UCF Library: ML 197 .C76 1968]
Aaron Copland, What to Listen for in Music (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc, 1957). [UCF Library: MT 6 .C78 1957]
Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis, Copland. 1900 through 1942, 1st ed. (New York: St. Martin's /Marek, 1984). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C756 A3 1984]
Elizabeth B. Crist, Music for the Common Man : Aaron Copland During the Depression and War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). [UCF Library: eBook (access online only)]
Elizabeth B. Crist and Wayne Shirley, eds., The Selected Correspondence of Aaron Copland (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C756 A4 2006]
Richard Kostelanetz, ed., Aaron Copland: A Reader, Selected Writings 1923-1972 (New York: Routledge, 2004). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C756 A25 2004]
Gail Levin, and Judith Tick, Aaron Copland's America: A Cultural Perspective, (New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C726 L48 2000]
Carol Oja and Judith Tick, eds., Aaron Copland and His World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C756 A67 2005]
Howard Pollack, Aaron Copland : The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man (Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2000). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C726 P6 1999]
Joann Skowronski, Aaron Copland : A Bio-Bibliography, Bio-Bibliographies in Music, Nr. 2 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985). [UCF Library: ML 410 .C78 S55 1985]
Dorothy Z. Baker, "Aaron Copland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson : A Reading of Dissonance and Harmony." The Emily Dickinson Journal 12/1 (Spring 2003): 1-24.
Sally Bick, “Of Mice and Men: Copland, Hollywood and American Musical Modernism,” American Music 23 (2005): 426-472.
Elizabeth Bergman Crist, "The Compositional History of Aaron Copland's Symphonic Ode," American Music 18/3 (Autumn, 2000): 257-277.
Daniel Felsenfeld, Ives and Copland: A Listener's Guide, Parallel Lives Series, Nr. 1 (Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus Press, 2004) [UCF Library: ML 390 .F35 2004; plus accompanying CD]
Marian Horosko, Martha Graham : The Evolution of her Dance Theory and Training (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002).
Stanley V. Kleppinger. “On the Influence of Jazz Rhythm in the Music of Aaron Copland”, American Music 21, No. 1 (Spring, 2003): 74-11
Mademoiselle : A Portrait of Nadia Boulanger (Indian University Audio-Visual Center, 1987) [UCF Media VHS TAPE : ML 423 .B52 M6132 1987]
Marta Robertson and Robin Armstrong, Aaron Copland: A Guide to Research (London: Routledge, 2001).
Leonie Rosenstiel, Nadia Boulanger: A Life in Music (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1998).
Lawrence Starr, “Copland’s Style,” Perspectives of New Music 19, Nos. 1/2 (Autumn 1980-Summer 1981): 67-89.
Lawrence Starr, The Dickinson Songs of Aaron Copland, CMS Sourcebooks in American Music (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2002) [UCF Library: ML 410 .C756 S73 2002; plus accompanying CD]
Marc Vargo, Noble Lives : Biographical Portraits of Three Remarkable Gay Men : Glenway Wescott, Aaron Copland, Dag Hammarskjold (New York: Harrington Park Press, 2005) [UCF Library: HQ 75.7 .V37 2005]
Humphrey Burton, Leonard Bernstein (New York: Doubleday, 1994). [xiv. 594 pp. ISBN: 0-385-42345-4]
Humphrey Burton’s voluminous hagiography is exhaustive in scope. Access to the official Bernstein archive placed Burton in the enviable position of being able to share details of Bernstein’s illustrious life and work, which were only conjecture in Joan Peyser’s earlier unauthorized biography. Burton commences with a firsthand experience of the conductor’s memorial, recognizing the influence Bernstein had over the elite upper-crust of society. Details of Bernstein’s career, from his years at Tanglewood with Koussevitzky, to his illustrious conducting experiences, to his varied compositions follow. While Burton is meticulous with details of Bernstein’s turbulent personal life (all the while discreet in his revelations), there is a notable lack of scholarly study in terms of Bernstein’s compositional output. In addition to a life line, works list, extensive bibliography and “end notes” (such as they are), the book includes two photo montages which feature the composer, his family, colleagues, and teachers. [T. Miller]
Peter Gradenwitz, Leonard Bernstein: The Infinite Variety of a Musician (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987).
This book highlights the versatility of Leonard Bernstein as a musician, composer, conductor, lecturer, and teacher, particularly for the purpose of teaching and exposing classical and contemporary music to the public and the younger generation of his time. The author criticizes those articles and books that have been written for the purpose of exposing idiosyncrasies in Bernstein’s personality and character that do not have any significance in relation to the achievements and contributions of Bernstein’s musical and pedagogical career. The book takes a chronological approach to Bernstein’s career, with chapters devoted entirely to topics such as “Symphonic works” and “West Side Story”. [J. Tekalli]
Johanna Hurwitz, Leonard Bernstein A Passion For Music (Philadelphia and Jerusalem : The Jewish Publication Society, 1993).
This is a great book. The author does not elaborate on events in Bernstein's life, instead she highlights what she believes to be the most important events in Bernstein’s career. Although this book is not written with great scholarly value, it is still written for those with a great vocabulary. The strengths within this book would have to be how the author goes straight to the point. Unlike most biographies, Hurwitz does not take the route of adding unnecessary information before reaching the point. One of the main weaknesses of this book is the way the author changes topics. She somehow does not always complete the previous thought. She seems to just cut her final thoughts off and proceed to the next topic. This is a weakness to me because it is sometimes hard to make connections between the eras and the events that occurred between each era. [P. Mason]
Paul R. Laird, Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research (New York, Routledge, 2002).
Leonard Bernstein’s career spanned a variety of worlds including conductor, composer, pianist as well as his role as a celebrity. In addition to these roles, he was also known for his large personality, known for dappling into controversy, as reflected by commentary by many writers. This book’s author specifically addresses this potentially hazardous bibliographical pothole by the selective nature of the sources in which he draws information from. A particularly strong point of this book is the coverage of Bernstein’s musical style. It is organized into one chapter encompassing the impact and eclecticism as well as the more technical aspects such as melody, harmony, texture and form. In addition to the coverage of Bernstein’s style, short annotations accompany a list of Bernstein’s compositions which describe each work’s historical background as well its biographical context in relation to Bernstein. [J. Tekalli]
Paul Myers, Leonard Bernstein 20th-Century Composers (London: Phaidon Press, 1998). (ML410.B566 M94 1998)
Paul Myers biography about Leonard Bernstein is an informative hardback book of two hundred and twenty-four pages. Mr. Myers worked with Bernstein often as a European representative of his record company. He often shares many quotes of Bernstein’s close friends such as Glen Gould. He was a man with whom Bernstein shared his personal fears and confidences; therefore this biography offers many insights in to this man. It appears he was often, at least, a spectator to events as they unfolded. The book has a detailed index, a classified list of works, and suggested further reading. However, the bibliography is virtually nonexistent. There are many fine black and white photographs of Bernstein at his best and worst. [J. Althouse]
Joan Peyser, Bernstein: A Biography (New York: Beech Tree Books William Morrow, 1987).
This biography is based on writings and conversations that Joan Peyser had with Leonard Bernstein towards the end of his life. Included in the text is also information that was gathered from close family and friends through interviews, phone conversations and written correspondence. The book reads like a story so if you want to find specific things about Bernstein, it is best to use the topical index at the end of the book. There is no bibliography in the book except for a mention of a few sources in the front. Overall it is a very thorough book for understanding the life and surroundings of Bernstein, but if you are looking for a book that analyzes his works, this is not it. [A. Venturini]
Meryle Secrest, Leonard Bernstein (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994).
After reading past the typos and the apparent lack of editing, one finds a bold look into Leonard Bernstein’s life. Even the illustrations quote Bernstein’s direct words, such as “That’s me. half man, half woman.” He said this while describing a picture of himself and a pole that is in the way of the camera and is somewhat “splitting him in half.” This story-like biography draws the reader into the world of a genius who was able to compose great music, but was not able to discern his own inner desires. This book also introduces other greats who were exposed to Bernstein, such as George Abbott and Adolph Green and of course, Aaron Copland. [D. Rojas]
Kevin P. Bartram, "Lessons from a Master: Using the 'Bernstein Formula' in Music Classrooms," Music Educators Journal 90/4 (March 2004):19-24.
In Bartram’s article, Leonard Bernstein’s teaching style or “The Bernstein Formula” is examined and explained eloquently through the analysis of his Young People’s Concerts. Bartram’s article lays out Bernstein’s teaching methods from the questions he poses to the answers developed through student and audience participation. Bernstein’s methodology is thoroughly discussed and proves to be a good model for future educators to follow. Any student of Leonard Bernstein’s teaching methods will find this article insightful and useful in classroom discourse.
Leonard Bernstein, The Unanswered Question : Six Talks at Harvard (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1976)
The Unanswered Question is discussions on music's history and forms, with particular emphasis on modern music. It addresses the average reader who is not musically trained but wants to know what makes music work, i.e. "tonal" and "atonal." It requires some concentration, but Bernstein, keeps technical jargon to a minimum, and illustrates what he means with musical examples and graphics. Recorded in 1973 as a video, Bernstein insists "The pages that follow were written not to be read, but listened to," advocating the video. The talks are, in fact, performances on video. To illustrate various points in his analyses, he plays the piano frequently, sings occasionally, and conducts significant works of key composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Ives, Mahler, and Stravinsky. In the book, Bernstein traces the development of music from its origins to the 20th-century struggle between tonality and atonalism. He argues persuasively that humans are born with an ability to grasp musical forms, and that rules of musical syntax are rooted in nature, in mathematically measurable relations between tones and overtones. [M. Terrell]
Leonard Bernstein, Young People's Concerts (Pompton Plains: Amadeus Press, 2005).
Young Peoples Concerts is a book written in response to the popularity of the televised lectures given by Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This book focuses on fifteen of the fifty-three lectures given by Bernstein, and covers such topics as: Impressionism, folk music, orchestration, and what makes music American. There is also an enlightening forward written by Michael Tilson Thomas, and a list of young people’s concerts written and performed by Bernstein for those wishing to use this resource for educational purposes. These lectures are transcribed in a clear and concise format, with all the sparkle that captures the essence of Bernstein’s gift for communication. While the book is certainly geared for a younger audience, or for those unfamiliar with musical terminology and concepts, even the most seasoned musical veteran can walk away from this resource with a greater depth of musical understanding and insight. [Manitta]
William Westbrook Burton, Conversations About Bernstein (??: Replica Books, 2001)
In Conversations About Bernstein, friends, critics, and collaborators, as well as world-class musicians who shared the stage with Bernstein, recall the private artist behind such great works as Jeremiah Symphony, West Side Story, and Serenade as well as the public splendor and acclamation. In a unique series of interviews with author William Westbrook Burton, they divulge how Bernstein worked, the perpetual conflicts in his personal and professional lives, and why he made the choices he did. These conversations are with colleagues, music critics, a record producer, conducting protégés, and many more, which makes these more serious commentaries than gossipy chronicles. [J. Gautier]
Joan Peyser, "The Bernstein Legacy," Opera News 65, no. 1 (2000): 22-7, 71 [M. Terrell choice, 30 Mar 08]
Joan Peyser, editor of The Orchestra, assesses Leonard Bernstein’s career and influence in the article, "Bernstein’s Legacy." The mix up in his legacy has nothing to do with Bernstein himself, but with other perspective American composers. Peyser points out Bernstein’s brilliant example as conductor of the New York Philharmonic has not translated into other Americans being chosen for major American symphonic posts. The author also alludes to the pressure put on Bernstein to specialize. Peyser also finds it worth the time to run a list of the eleven orchestras with the largest budgets, compiled by the American Symphony Orchestra League, with their current music directors. It is interesting to note that Michael Tilson Thomas (San Francisco SO) is the only American on this list, and he was embraced by and guided by Bernstein. She concludes her writing by pointing out that Bernstein never thoroughly embraced either Broadway or serious, contemporary musical thought.
David Michael Schiller, Bloch, Schoenberg, and Bernstein: assimilating Jewish Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
This work contains three chapters addressing three different works by three different 20th century Jewish composers: Ernest Bloch, Arnold Schoenberg and Leonard Bernstein. The last chapter on Bernstein focuses on his post-Holocaust work Kaddish. The chapter includes commentary by David Schiller on Bernstein’s own silence in regards to the Holocaust during the time of war. This section includes Bernstein’s writings explaining the reasons for his struggle to address and document his feelings about the war during the war and the role of his assimilation as an American Jew. The second section features his work Kaddish and how it was his “coming to terms” with his aporia in regards to the war. Bernstein attests that this composition is in fact a “response to the trauma of the Holocaust”. [J. Tekalli]
Thomas R. Seiler, Leonard Bernstein : the Last 10 Years : a Personal Portrait (Edition Stemmle: 2000).
Capturing a musician’s life through a lens reveals what is not spoken. To me this book gave me insight on how Bernstein lived, directed his music, and treated other musicians. Because Thomas Seiler traveled with Leonard for over 10 years, there is also a great amount of biographical information pertaining to Bernstein’s life. By looking at the pictures and interpreting correctly you can get a perspective about the way that Bernstein composed and directed without even reading one word. I would use this as a resource if you were trying to gain “personal” information on how Leonard Bernstein’s life and how he became the composer that he was. [F. Wosar]
Cladia Swan, The Harvard Years (New York : The Eos Orchestra, 1999)
Swan has compiled a useful book made up of personal accounts from ten different contributors who are professors, classmates, music journalist, along with letters written by Bernstein during his formative years at Harvard University. While the book is disjunct, to be expected with this type of format, it is of great value to any academic researching the unconventional education received by one of America’s greatest conductors. There is also a chapter about Bernstein while he attended the Boston Latin School written by a classmate who later became an author. [K. Strang]