Reading Material: books, essays and blogs

[sgambatiesque]

What pianistic volumes has everyone been reading lately?

In the last year I've read Earl Wild's door-stopping autobiography Walk on the Wild Side, and am now part way through the biography of Ervin Nyiregyhazi, Lost Genius.

A good review of the latter here:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/books ... man-t.html

Today I came across a short essay Let's tickle the ivories by David Dubal in the New Criterion: http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cf ... ories-7274

[4candles]

I'm ashamed to say that there are very few composer biographies/essays that I have read. However, I can always recommend the three or four tomes on Alkan (by Smith, Eddie and Fayard publishers).

I don't know if these are up people's streets, but Toccata Press have released and continue to release volumes of biographical and musical interest on some of the less-explored (comparatively speaking) of the great composers - http://www.toccatapress.com

[Timtin]

I don't know if these are up people's streets.....

Yes, they certainly are! Judging by the Enescu book I have here, it's tempting to
get hold of some of the others as well, not only for their content, but also as
quite good long-term investments.

[sgambatiesque]

I'm ashamed to say that there are very few composer biographies/essays that I have read. However, I can always recommend the three or four tomes on Alkan (by Smith, Eddie and Fayard publishers).

I have a couple of the Smith Alkans on my shelf but I think I exhausted myself by looking for them for so long and actually haven't got around to reading them.

I've got quite a shelf of piano-related volumes, including Robert Rimm's The Composer-Pianists which is a good volume for this group.

The most interesting general music works I've encountered in recent years are by Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise, and Listen to This.

[Timtin]

I was lucky enough to attend a Ronald Smith recital about 30 years ago,
when he played Chopin's Op25 note-perfect from memory, plus some
of Alkan's Op39. Unfortunately the auditorium was nearly empty, apart
from about a dozen 'Alkanists' plus another dozen or so students, who
appeared to be there simply out of boredom or curiosity, or because they
had free passes to get in.
Smith had very little stage-presence. He shuffled on and off the stage
almost apologetically, and his appearance put me in mind of Shostakovich.
But at the keyboard he was a absolute star. I wish I'd taken along my two
Alkan books he'd written, to get them autographed.

[sgambatiesque]

I wish I'd taken along my two Alkan books he'd written, to get them autographed.

That made me run off to check if mine had been signed before I bought them (used but in fine condition).

On a visit to Hay-on-Wye I spotted a copy of the whimsical biography of the young Eileen Joyce. Turned out to have been signed by both author and subject. A bargain at 2 pounds!

My copy of The Composer Pianists is signed by Marc-André Hamelin, and I picked up a copy of Stephen Hough's arrangement of Waltzing Matilda at a Sydney concert which he autographed for me.

[Timtin]

Dr. David Wright has an interesting website, part of which contains
reviews of a large number of composers' lives and works.

Having read his review about Benjamin Britten, it's surprising that
BB wasn't so much writing bars (of music) as sitting in a prison cell
looking out through them!

http://www.wrightmusic.net/pages/composers.html

[Timtin]

This post doesn't really have an appropriate thread, but this one will do.

A recent purchase of mine has an amusing comment on the back of the
score regarding the hobby about which we're all so passionate. It's been
circled to highlight it.

On collecting scores.pdf

[ilu]

Hi:

I am looking information about “Waltz Boston” as a musical genre.

Thanks in advance.

ILU.

[Jean-Séb]

It is a type of "valse lente", originating from the United States and terribly in fashion in France at the beginning of the XXth Century.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_(danse)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_(dance)

Examples of scores:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Boston-Waltz_(Ast ... %2C_Pedro)
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k394750r.image.f2
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9 ... rk=21459;2
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9069691n
http://www.free-scores.com/partitions_t ... tion=85064

It is usually fun and easy to play.