The book reveals the forgotten secrets of the Bel Canto Vocal Technique of singing and returns to the fundamentals of what great, beautiful and natural singing is all about.
TITLES OF INTEREST POSTED 30 OCTOBER 2001
"Valery Gergiev and the Kirov: A Story of Survival"
John Ardoin
...available here.
The late John Ardoin's study "Valery Gergiev and the Kirov: A Story
of Survival" offers a history of the Kirov opera and ballet that
encompasses quite a bit of Russian history along the way. His
meticulously researched book on the institutions inherited by the
pivotal conductor Gergiev addresses past and present in alternating
chapters.
"The Operagoer's Guide: One Hundred Stories and Commentaries"
M. Owen Lee
...available here.
Father Lee's "Operagoer's Guide" is--as anyone familiar with his
elegant "Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round" should
expect--delightful, informative, and humorous. Along with plot
synopses, he includes commentaries brimful with bits of unexpected,
unfamiliar information. Lee isn't afraid to voice strong-minded
opinions, but his charm is disarming in the process.
"Covent Garden, the Untold Story: Dispatches from the English
Culture Wars, 1945-2000"
Norman Lebrecht
...available here.
Classical music's favorite doomsday prophet (and denouncer of
emperors-in-new-clothers), Norman Lebrecht has gained much recent
attention for his jeremiads a propos the recording industry. In
"Covent Garden, the Untold Story: Dispatches from the English
Culture War (1945-2000)," the feisty scribe rivets his focus on the
venerable English institution in a story of decline and fall.
Lebrecht sees the opera house's fortunes as emblematic for much that
is wrong in the art and its administration today, and he offers a
glimpse into the future as well.
"No Vivaldi in the Garage: A Requiem for Classical Music in North
America"
Sheldon Morgenstern
...available here.
Another litany of what's wrong with our arts institutions can be
found in Sheldon Morgenstern's "No Vivaldi in the Garage: A Requiem
for Classical Music in North America." Morgenstern, a teacher and
conductor who directed the Eastern Music Festival, has written a
memoir that encompasses portraits of important musical figures of
the last several decades, as well as passionate critiques of the
NEA, American Symphony Orchestra League, and, more generally, the
manner in which musical politics and polemics are conducted today.
"My First 79 Years: Isaac Stern"
Chaim Potok
...available here.
Violinist Isaac Stern, who recently passed away, left a legacy
larger than his extraordinary life in music. Reportedly, conductor
George Szell once told Stern that if he spent less time doing other
things and more time practicing, he could be "the greatest violinist
in the world." Stern's appealing memoir reveals a well-rounded man
with a gusto for life beyond the concert hall that made his passion
for music all the more fulfilling.
"The Music of Silence"
Andrea Bocelli
...available here.
For fans of Andrea Bocelli, there's a new splurge of goodies. The
tenor's memoir, "The Music of Silence," has now been translated into
English, its publication coinciding with the release of his latest
(mostly pop-oriented) CD, "Cieli di Toscana." Read about Bocelli's
ascent--as well as struggles faced--to attain a new kind of
crossover superstardom.
"Longing (Ballantine Reader's Circle)"
J. D. Landis
...available here.
The Romantic composers have always been particular magnets for
fictional treatment--a trend that probably reached its laughably
clichéd nadir in Hollywood films. But novelist J.D. Landis
attempts to get inside the psychology of one of the most sensitive
figures in music history, who lived in very interesting times. His
novelistic treatment of Robert and Clara Schumann, "Longing," is now
available in paperback.
RICHTER REMEMBERED
Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) was one of the most enigmatic
pianists ever to play classical music. Yet, the mysterious
keyboardist was also one of the most talented, with a fiery,
expressive playing style that still sounds definitive today. In this
exclusive feature, Amazon.com contributor and Richter expert Stephen
Wigler considers what made the Russian virtuoso so special, looking
at RCA's new "Richter Rediscovered" and the other brilliant
recordings he left us.
...available here.
"Morimur (after J.S. Bach)"
Christoph Poppen
...available here.
Copious liner notes help explain the concept behind ECM's
fascinating "Morimur" disc: an acclaimed music professor has
discovered that Bach's Partita in D minor for solo violin is
embedded with various chorale themes and other musical symbols. Once
you get past the scholarly conception, what you get is a beautifully
recorded, thoroughly entrancing disc featuring the Hilliard Ensemble
performing Bach chorales to violin accompaniment. The results are a
true revelation: sublime and calming.