Louis Gottschalk (1829-1869) was the first American pianist and composer to win international fame. His creative use of the colorful and exotic musical idioms of his native New Orleans foreshadowed by some fifty years the appearance of these same influences in early jazz.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Facts and Some Embellishments -,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Where the Word Ends: The Life of Louis Moreau Gottschalk (Paperback)
On the whole this is a "good" book on an intriguing character. Loggins obviously has access to Gottschalk's personal writings, has done his homework and gives a very credible biography on a too-little appreciated American. This book will give you a fairly detailed summary of Gottschalk's life in a straight-forward, plainly written style. There are some embellishments here and there but it is pretty obvious when Loggins is giving his own spin to things (e.g. Gottschalk's Spanish venture and the subsequent damage to his hand).
If you are interested in a readable introduction to a pianist whose life and reputation are as varied and interesting as his music then this is a good place to start. Gottschalk and his music are very representative of his time. The exuberance of life lived, in the face of ever present threat of disease (yellow fever in particular), shows forth in the passions of nationalistic pride, the charm of social courtesy in a highly stratified culture, the elegance of sophisticated conversation and cultured interaction, which never-the-less was not out of touch with the lower classes, both slave and peasant. Gottschalk's life makes plain that culture can and must recognize social stratification in the context of mutual respect. It argues for the possibility of degrees of sophistication without elitism. We hear that in his music, as the complexity of rhythm and velocity demand the highest levels of virtuosity, yet the melodies are rooted in the common and even elemental strands in the social fabric. His was a life of liberty and his music is democratic to its roots. In its own way, this book communicates some notion of these things, yet, it could have risen a bit higher than it does. The facts are there but helpful analysis and insights would have broadened its impact. The simplicity of the language and diction somewhat even argue against what Gottschalk's life and music contributed. It lacks elegance and if there is anything we can say about Gottschalk, it must be that in him and his music, elegance was not lacking. It's a good book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Edward Gottschalk was married to Aimee Brusle in the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Monday, May 26, 1828. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
assisting artists, piano virtuoso, more concerts, head physician, philharmonic society Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Orleans, New York, United States, San Francisco, Ada Clare, Monsieur Letellier, Madame Dussert, Grand Duchess, Monsieur Stamaty, Academy of Music, Rio de Janeiro, Monsieur Gottschalk, Edward Gottschalk, Pass Christian, Mary Alice, Salle Pleyel, Monsieur Orfila, Moreau Gottschalk, San Franciscans, South America, Jenny Lind, Madame Boyer, New England, The Last Hope, Buenos Aires New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Edward Gottschalk was married to Aimee Brusle in the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Monday, May 26, 1828. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
assisting artists, piano virtuoso, more concerts, head physician, philharmonic society Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Orleans, New York, United States, San Francisco, Ada Clare, Monsieur Letellier, Madame Dussert, Grand Duchess, Monsieur Stamaty, Academy of Music, Rio de Janeiro, Monsieur Gottschalk, Edward Gottschalk, Pass Christian, Mary Alice, Salle Pleyel, Monsieur Orfila, Moreau Gottschalk, San Franciscans, South America, Jenny Lind, Madame Boyer, New England, The Last Hope, Buenos Aires New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 24
books:
See all 24 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- Notes of a Pianist by Louis Moreau Gottschalk on 6 pages
- Last Hope by Chloe Hall on 4 pages
- Don Giovanni in Full Score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on page 70, and page 226
- Lucrezia Borgia by G DONIZETTI on page 23
- Offenbach and the Paris of His Time by Siegfried Kracauer in Back Matter
See all 24 books this book cites
- Southern Music/American Music by Bill C. Malone in Back Matter
- The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States by John Storm Roberts in Back Matter
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
