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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"Beethoven's Overture to Egmont is a classic hors d'oeuvre. Nobody's digestion was ever spoiled by it, and no late comer has ever lost much by missing it." Thus waxed composer and music critic Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) about a 1940 season-opener of the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York, and there's more where that came from: Virgil Thomson: A Reader Selected Writings, 1924-1984 gathers the best of the writer's brilliantly acerbic criticism. The volume, edited by Richard Kostelanetz (Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes), includes Thomson's musings on such subjects as "Mozart's Leftism," his relationship with contemporaries such as Kurt Weill and Aaron Copland, the staging of opera, and the careers of everyone from John Cage to Gertrude Stein.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Virgil Thompson is universally recognized as one of the dominant music critics whose unique sensibility was informed by his groundbreaking work as a composer of the mid twentieth-century. Whether writing for a daily newspaper or an academic journal, Thompson brought wit and erudition to a literary form that is often staid. Not suffering fools gladly, unwilling to kowtow to the powers that be, Thompson and his writing remain remarkably relevant and entertaining today. This essential reader includes his essays on making a living as a musician; his articles on classic composers; his relation to his contemporaries; his articles on newcomers in the music world, including John Cage and Pierre Boulez; his autobiographical writings and commentary on his own works.
See all Editorial Reviews
"Beethoven's Overture to Egmont is a classic hors d'oeuvre. Nobody's digestion was ever spoiled by it, and no late comer has ever lost much by missing it." Thus waxed composer and music critic Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) about a 1940 season-opener of the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York, and there's more where that came from: Virgil Thomson: A Reader Selected Writings, 1924-1984 gathers the best of the writer's brilliantly acerbic criticism. The volume, edited by Richard Kostelanetz (Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes), includes Thomson's musings on such subjects as "Mozart's Leftism," his relationship with contemporaries such as Kurt Weill and Aaron Copland, the staging of opera, and the careers of everyone from John Cage to Gertrude Stein.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Virgil Thompson is universally recognized as one of the dominant music critics whose unique sensibility was informed by his groundbreaking work as a composer of the mid twentieth-century. Whether writing for a daily newspaper or an academic journal, Thompson brought wit and erudition to a literary form that is often staid. Not suffering fools gladly, unwilling to kowtow to the powers that be, Thompson and his writing remain remarkably relevant and entertaining today. This essential reader includes his essays on making a living as a musician; his articles on classic composers; his relation to his contemporaries; his articles on newcomers in the music world, including John Cage and Pierre Boulez; his autobiographical writings and commentary on his own works.
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Though written more than sixty years ago, Thomson's book, The State of Music (1939; rev. 1961), remains a masterpiece of musical sociology, with persuasive distinctions and insights, for instance shrewdly regarding stylistic characteristics as reflections of social factors. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Gertrude Stein, Four Saints, World War, Aaron Copland, Herald Tribune, United States, Three Acts, Erik Satie, Kurt Weill, Metropolitan Opera, Richard Wagner, San Francisco, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten, Don Giovanni, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, Paul Bowles, Virgil Thomson, Columbia University, Darius Milhaud, Elliott Carter New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Though written more than sixty years ago, Thomson's book, The State of Music (1939; rev. 1961), remains a masterpiece of musical sociology, with persuasive distinctions and insights, for instance shrewdly regarding stylistic characteristics as reflections of social factors. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Gertrude Stein, Four Saints, World War, Aaron Copland, Herald Tribune, United States, Three Acts, Erik Satie, Kurt Weill, Metropolitan Opera, Richard Wagner, San Francisco, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten, Don Giovanni, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, Paul Bowles, Virgil Thomson, Columbia University, Darius Milhaud, Elliott Carter New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 81
books:
See all 81 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- State Of Music, The (Music Book Index) by Virgil Thomson on 4 pages
- Don Giovanni in Full Score (Opera Libretto Series) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on 4 pages
- Art Of Judging Music, The (Music Book Index) by Virgil Thomson in Front Matter, page 233, and Back Matter
- Rhapsody in Blue: Solo Piano (Original) by George Gershwin on page 139, page 140, and page 166
- The Rite of Spring (Dover Miniature Scores) by Igor Stravinsky on page 60, page 98, and page 221
See all 81 books this book cites
- John Cage: Music, Philosophy, and Intention, 1933-1950 (Studies in Contemporary Music Andculture) by David W. Patterson on page 44
- Aaron Copland: A Reader: Selected Writings, 1923-1972 by R. Kostelanetz in Front Matter
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