Irving Fine (1914-1962) may have been the most gifted American composer of his generation. He was born in Boston, brought up in Winthrop, educated at Harvard and at Tanglewood; he was one of the founding fathers of the music program at Brandeis University, which to this day sponsors an annual concert in his memory.
 | The Steinway Collection: Paintings of Great Composers By James Gibbons Huneker / 1-57467-115-4, hardcover, US$22.00, C$32.95 (Pricing and availability subject to change) |
"The myth of Marie Curie - the penniless Polish immigrant who through genius and obsessive persistence endured years of toil and deprivation to produce radium, a luminous panacea for all the world's ills, including cancer - has obscured the remarkable truth behind her discoveries. Marie Curie's shrewd though controversial insight was that radioactivity was an atomic property that could be used to discover new elements. While her work won her two Noble Prizes and transformed our world, it did not liberate her from the prejudices of either the male-dominated scientific community or society." "In Obsessive Genius, the author and historian Barbara Goldsmith has discovered the woman behind the icon we have come to believe in - an all-too-human woman trying to balance a scientific career with the obligations of family, the prejudice of society, the constant search for adequate funding, and the battle for recognition." Using original research (diaries, letters, and family interviews) to peel away the layers of myth, Goldsmith offers a portrait of Marie Curie, her amazing discoveries, and the immense price she paid for fame.
The first decades of the twentieth century were a fertile and fascinating period in American musical history. This book and the two CDs that accompany it present an exceptional collection of interviews with and about the most significant musical figures of the era. Tapping the unparalleled materials contained in the Oral History American Music archive at Yale University, Composers' Voices from Ives to Ellington is a unique account of what it was like for musicians and composers to live and work in those years. It is also the story of the making of this archive, as told by Vivian Perlis, who personally conducted many of the interviews.
The Truth (with Jokes)
Enough small talk. I'm writing because of a critically important moment in the life of our nation. No, not the regrettable but richly deserved wave of GOP-crippling indictments. I'm writing about my new book: The Truth (with jokes). It's coming out today. And I've given it my highest possible recommendation--five stars. (My Amazon.com reader-reviewer name is "NYbooklover38.")
 | Alma Ros¿: Vienna to Auschwitz By Richard Newman / 1-57467-051-4, hardcover, US$29.95, C$39.95 © 2000, Currently Available (Pricing and availability subject to change) |
 | Adelina Patti: Queen of Hearts By John Frederick Cone / 0-931340-60-8, hardcover, US$39.95, C$54.95 © 1993, Currently Available (Pricing and availability subject to change) |
The prim and proper world of classical music has a seamy and steamy side, fully detailed in a new book by Blair Tindall.
...LINK to complete news story
Shelby Foote, the last great Southern historian of the South before and during the War Between the States, has gone. The Times published a large and respectful obituary (June 29). It took participation in Ken Burns' miniseries to bring this man's gifts to light, for which I will always be grateful.
Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right
Al Franken, one of our “savviest satirists” (People), has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of “slander,” “bias,” and even “treason.” He has examined the Bush administration's policies of squandering our surplus, ravaging the environment, and alienating the rest of the world. He's even watched Fox News. A lot.
...LINK to complete news story.
Cole Porter, arguably Americas premiere 20th-century songwriter, was
born JUNE in 1891. Feel free to hum along as we honor him with
several selections, including Night and Day.
...LINK to complete WEBSITE.
The Barnes & Noble Review Celebrated comedian and actor Steve Martin follows his critically acclaimed first novella, Shopgirl, with this endearing tale of a lonely, tic-ridden man who is transformed by the miracle of love from a passive spectator to an active participant in life. A slave to his obsessive-compulsive disorder, Daniel Pecan Cambridge is a young recluse whose lonely, pathologically structured existence is unexpectedly turned around by Clarissa, a psychiatry student and social worker who's been studying his complex peculiarities. When her abusive ex-husband tries to take away her son, Teddy, Daniel steps in to protect the boy. From this single, uncharacteristic moment of courage and involvement, Daniel soon grows to care deeply for Clarissa and Teddy, until they bothe become an essential part of his life. With this second novella, Martin proves himself a master of the genre. He develops the relationship between Daniel and Clarissa slowly and carefully, exhibiting real affection for his flawed but lovable characters and combining vivid, realistic detail with imaginative and thoughtful ruminations on the nature of truth, society, and family. Insightful, rich, and subtly satirical, The Pleasure of My Company is a charming tale of love that will delight readers. Tom Piccirilli
September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The first-ever biography of the highly respected arranger in the history of American popular music. Base on more than 200 interviews with his closest friends, family, and colleagues.
SYNOPSIS
Jazz publicist Peter Levinson presents the first biography of famed arranger, Nelson Riddle.
at Amazon.com
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