New Publications,
New Music Book Publications - 16th May 2022
Welcome to our latest selection of new music books. Our picks this time round include the latest addition to Oxford University Press's series of Very Short Introductions on Beethoven; a biography of famed jazz clarinettist Artie Shaw; an examination of the perception of American music in the minds of French authors; a handbook for aspiring orchestral managers; a guide to building a career in live entertainment sound; an exploration of the affinity between twentieth-century abstract art and jazz music; a study of Bob Dylan's iconic 1962 song, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall; and a volume discussing Eurasian musical journeys.
This introduction proposes a new way of listening to Beethoven by understanding his music as an expression of his entire self, not just the iconic scowl so familiar from later images of him. Discarding tired myths about the composer, this book proposes a new way of listening to Beethoven by hearing his music as an expression of his entire self, not just his scowling self.
Available Format: Book
Artie Shaw was immersed in the music business as a performer for thirty years. This book begins with a summary of his career in the contexts of jazz history and social setting, then moves into more chronologically-arranged sections, mirroring each phase of his career, incorporating contemporary reviews and interview quotes to create an insightful narrative.
Available Format: Book
America in the French Imaginary, 1789-1914: Music, Revolution and Race
Diana R. Hallman & Cesar Leal (editors); Boydell & Brewer; Hardback
Following the American Revolution, French authors often viewed the United States as a laboratory for the forging of new practices of liberté and egalité, in affinity with France's own ideals but in competition with lingering depictions of an untamed New World. This volume examines French imaginings of America through musical/theatrical portrayals of the American Revolution and Republic, soundscapes of the Statue of Liberty, and negotiations of Francophone identity in New Orleans.
Available Format: Book
Orchestra Management Handbook: Building Relationships in Turbulent Times
Travis Newton; Oxford University Press; Paperback
Written for those who are contemplating jumping into the orchestra management realm, this handbook provides a way for people to forge a path through this complicated, exciting, and challenging line of work. Each chapter provides practical strategies, tools, and a variety of resources, always with an emphasis on building relationships.
Available Format: Book
Living the Audio Life: A Guide to a Career in Live Entertainment Sound
Brad Schiller; Taylor & Francis; Paperback
This book offers a practical overview of live audio entertainment, including real-world examples, interviews and tips. It includes insights from professionals in the live audio sector, as well as individuals at different stages in their careers, and presents an opportunity to update ageing live audio books, as well as to offer a business perspective which other books lack.
Available Format: Book
Central to the development of abstract art in the early decades of the twentieth century was the conception that the most appropriate paradigm for non-figurative art was music. The assumption has always been that this model was most effectively understood as Western art music. However, the musical form that was abstract art's true twin is jazz. This book sets out to theorise affinities between two seemingly diverse cultural phenomena.
Available Format: Book
Hard Rain: Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures, and the Meaning of History
Alessandro Portelli; Columbia University Press; Paperback
Bob Dylan's iconic 1962 song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall stands at the crossroads of musical and literary traditions. A visionary warning of impending apocalypse, it sets symbolist imagery within a structure that recalls a centuries-old form. This book explores its power and resonance, considering the meanings of history and memory in folk cultures and in Dylan's work, recasting it as an encounter between his despairing vision and the message of resilience found in oral traditions.
Available Format: Book
Eurasian Musical Journeys: Five Tales
Gabriela Currie & Lars Christensen; Cambridge University Press; Paperback
This volume explores the circulation of musical instruments, practices, and thought in pre-modern Eurasia at the crossroads of empires and nomadic cultures. The four stories featured here range from the performing groups during the Sui and Tang era, to the elusive musical world of Kucha in the Tarim Basin; from the fragmentary history of a single instrument linked to the Turkic peoples, to the transcontinental circulation of sound-making automata on both east-west and north-south axes.
Available Format: Book
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