Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXIV, no. 3 (Fall 1998)
Reviews of Books
Edited by Sherrill V. Martin, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Erich Leinsdorf on Music
By Erich Leinsdorf. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press. ISBN 1-57467-028-X. Pp. 330. $34.95
Erich Leinsdorf (1912-1993) had a distinguished career as music director and guest conductor in both the opera
house and on the concert stage. He also liked to write down his observations and opinions, hardly
letting a day pass without doing so, according to Vera Graf, his wife of twenty-five years. He first book,
Cadenza: A Musical Career (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976), was autobiographical; his second,
The Composer's Advocate: A Radical Orthodoxy for Musicians (Yale University Press, 1981), was of
interest mainly to conductors. Erich Leinsdorf on Music addresses the general reader, according
to Reinhard G. Pauly, editor. By "general reader," Pauly means the kind of musically literate
lay person that Mr. Leinsdorf says is sadly disappearing from our society. (He also laments the lack
of musical literacy on the part of professional musicians).
The books is a collection of essays with no central thrust; it covers topics ranging from growing up
in Vienna between the wars to the crises facing the modern world of music. Proposed as a project
during the last year of the conductor's life, it had to be compiled after his death from materials
left at various stages of completion. Even within sections and chapters, the thread of argument drifts
through many related areas, some of which appear more than once. The discursive nature is perhaps
a result of the editorial patching together of the author's fragments.
Leinsdorf does not soft-pedal his opinions although the objects of his most scathing criticisms are
protected by not being mentioned by name. We learn that he has no sympathy for revisionist operatic
stage directors, is skeptical of period-instrument performance groups, and attributes many of the problems
facing today's orchestras to incompetent symphony boards and non-resident music directors. He blames
management and players' unions for dictating that overly-long symphony seasons consist entirely
of full-orchestra programs and suggests instead that half of the programs be devoted to reduced-orchestra
repertoire and Baroque music.
The rambling polemic would probably not be of value to us if it did not come from the perspective that
Leinsdorf offers. Critical writings from the aisle abound, but the views from a few feet up on the
podium by someone actively involved with many of the great performers and composers of this century
are ones that must be considered. His direct observations of Toscanini and the young von Karajan
round out our picture of these conductors, while the sections on Richard Strauss, Arnold
Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky, as he says, "shed some light on the murky subject of artistic
integrity and bourgeois morality" (111).
The essays ask more questions than they answer, but they are provocative and raise a whole field of
red flags for any musically literate person concerned about the health of today's orchestras, opera
companies, composers and audiences.
--Steven Errante
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Charles Ives and the Classical Tradition
Edited by Geoffrey Block and J. Peter Burkholder. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1996. ISBN 0-300-06177-3. Pp. 200. $25.00.
Charles Ives and the Classical Tradition introduces a distinctive approach that
contrasts with many other books and articles about a composer long perceived as
quintessentially American. In this book Charles Ives is depicted as a composer
whose music grew out of the European classical tradition, influenced by Wagner, Brahms,
Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, and especially Beethoven. Ives is also portrayed as a composer whose
musical and philosophical perspectives and stylistic characteristics strongly parallel those of
certain contemporaneous European composers, such as Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Igor
Stravinsky.
Issues discussed in this volume deserve serious consideration. Edited by two distinguished Ives
scholars, Geoffrey Block and J. Peter Burkholder (who each contributed major chapters), this volume
is certainly no without merit. Within its frugal confines this book is very well written. Among
its chapters, the excellent chapter by Nicholas Tawa particularly stands out. Tawa draws connections
between Ives (especially in his most conservative works) and his antecedents in the New England school.
The chapter by Robert P. Morgan on Ives and Mahler is notable for the light it sheds on Mahler. Morgan
discerns certain parallel philosophical views of both Mahler and Ives. Yet any similarities in these
views seem surprising considering the sharp disparities between their musical styles.
From the present writer's perspective, however, this book also contains major flaws. Certainly, Ives
understood the classical European tradition, but the most exciting, meaningful, and original
features of Ives's music are those that set him apart from that tradition. Ives's "relentless search
for new means of expression and his attempts to express . . . what had never been expressed in music"
(Burkholder) is not necessarily a manifestation of a European tradition. One cannot argue, as Burkholder
does, that Ives's uniqueness placed him in the same category as contemporaneous European composers (such
as Richard Strauss, Scriabin, Vaughan Williams, Debussy, Bartok and Webern) or that everything that
brought Ives to his composition, The Fourth of July, has its roots in the European Romantic
tradition.
Neither Ives's writings nor his music suggest to the present writer that Ives either compared himself
to Beethoven or placed himself in competition with that composer. With respect to Ives's quotations and
melodic figures, some of the attributes cited in this voluem are highly questionable, including
Dvorák's "New World" Symphony and Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata. One cannot convincingly
compare Ives's masterful use of the ragtime idiom with Stravinsky's contrived ragtime forays, as Andrew
Buchman does. As Edward Jablonsky wrote in his biography, Gershwin, [Stravinsky's] "abstract
handling of the idiom would have undoubtedly mystified Scott Joplin." Furthermore, it is indefensible
to question Ives's honesty by writing of his "feigned hostility toward the European tradition" (Buchman) or
to suggest that Ives had examined Le Sacre du Printemps and was influenced by it before he
composed Three Places in New England, in light of Ives's written protestations to the contrary.
On balance, this is a provocative book that may generate considerable debate concerning the
influences on Charles Ives and his musical style.
--Alan Mandel
American University
Musical Americans: A Biographical Dictionary 1918-1926
Collected, edited and with an introductionby Mary DuPree. Berkeley, CA: Fallen Leaf Press, 1997.
ISBN 0-914913-13-1. Pp. 303. $37.95.
Enter the era of the Edison Talking Machine and the reproducing piano, when "musical Americans"
accompanied Sarah Bernhardt in America or entertained the forces of the Allied Powers abroad. These
414 short biographies were a human interest feature alongside reviews of regional events sent from
Musical America's correspondents in the U.S. and Canada. Vignettes of selected musicians
in all fields (including Oscar Sonneck) paint the musical scene as perceived by the Musical America
editors of those years, John Freund and Milton Weil. Running through the collection is a thread of
national pride: being from "old American stock" or tracing one's family to the Pilgrim Fathers is
noteworthy. On the other hand, I counted 226 musicians born between 1850 and 1906 who studied in
Europe in contrast to twenty-two educated entirely in the U.S.
America's musical adolescence is painted here in broad strokes, but DuPree's index sharpens the
perspective. With a fine tooth comb she culls names and events and organizes them into useful data.
A casual reader may enjoy starting at the front; scholars may prefer to start with the index. Jazz
rates one entry, only one composer is interested in Indian music, and arts management deserves one
reference. DuPree has extracted for us almost everything we need to know, but one wishes for a
pronunciation guide. Although some names echo in our memories, a reader/user of this book surely would be
one to care about pronunciation of names. Helpful also would be a list of "firsts"--premieres and debuts--
and works played or sung at debuts. In addition, a compilation of colleges, conservatories, and
universities involved in tbe musical scene would be of historic interest.
There are a few inconsistenticies; if the Pittsburgh Mozart Society belongs in "clubs and societies,"
why doesn't the Pittsburgh Oratorio Society? If the Boston Athletic Association is there, why isn't
the Chicago Civic Opera Association? Just a shade more of DePree's scrupulous indexing could give
an even sharper focus.
--Mary Louise Van Dyke
Oberlin College
Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore
Edited by Francis E. Abernethy, Patric B. Mullen and Alan B. Govenar. Denton, Texas: University
of North Texas Press, 1996. ISBN 1-57441-018-0. Pp. 364.
This superb collection from the Texas Folklore Society brings together essays from a multi-disciplinary
group of scholars interested in the history and culture of African-Americans in Texas. The book is named
after the state's traditional celebration of freedom from slavery -- "Juneteenth," or June 19, the
date when, in 1865, U.S. troops arrived to enforce Emancipation in Texas.
The publication contains discussions of numerous aspects of African-American folklore in Texas,
including Texas-African foodways during the slavery years, blacksmithing, the work of artist John
Biggers, folktales as collected and retold by history of the Juneteenth celebration and more. However,
most of the collection is devoted to the musical traditions of Texan African-Americans and their
larger contributions to American music.
Texas has had particular impact on the development of the blues. Glen Alyn's biography of
Mance Lipscomb and John Wheat's acount of Lightnin' Hopkins's life demonstrate just how deep that impact
has been. In his essay, "From Bebop to Hard Bop and Beyond: The Texas Jazz Connection," Dave
Oliphant shows how black musicians Buster Smith, Gene Ramey, Budd Johnson, Charlie Christian,
Kenny Dorham and others played a key role in the spread of bebop, profoundly influencing
the work of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk.
In addition, Juneteenth Texas includes insightful discussions of Texas Zydeco music, musical
traditions of African-American cowboys, West African fiddles in East Texas, and the importance
of religious music in African-American communities. In his contribution, folklorist Pat Mullen
helps us step inside the offbeat world of longtime streat performer Bongo Joe. Finally, American
Literature Professor Trudier Harris takes the story behind 'The Yellow Rose of Texas" and stands it
on its head by pointing out some disturbing cultural implications of the popular legends behind this
song, supposedly dedicated to a heroic black woman.
--Alfred Bredenberg
Cornwall, CT
Women Composers and Songwriters: A Concise Biographical Dictionary
By Gene Claghorn. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8108-3130-9. Pp. vii, 247. $68.00.
Admittedly, Gene Claghorn does not claim to have produced a comprehensive work - how could he in
257 pages -- rather he describes this book as an amplification of his early volume, Women Composers
and Hymnists (1986), through the addition of secular composers. While I would love to celebrate
a work that places Debbie Gibson next to Miriam Gideon, this book is so flawed that is inclusive
nature comes off as a hodge-podge rather than a theoretical stance.
It is unclear how Claghorn chose his composers; his list of biographical sources at the end is skimpy and
lacks key titles. Notable absences I found in his compilation were Katherine Hoover; Augusta Read
Thomas; Terre, Maggie, and Suzzy Roche; Lucy Simon; and Ellie Greenwich. Furthermore, individual
entries are inconsistent and lack substance; work lists are haphazard. Some composers -- usually
his favored hymnists -- have several compositiosn listed by title while other composers get one
item memtioned, sometimes a single song, sometimes the title of an album, sometimes a crytic
statement about their career as in "Popular at Carnegie Hall" for Fanny Bloomfield-Zeisler. Similarly,
hymnists often get a more generous discussion of their career than their secular sisteers; Mary Elizabeth
Clockler Caldwell gets twenty lines of text to Amy Beach's ten. Other entries, often those of rock
stars, contain quotations from their songs as if they were autobiographical, or contain questionable
insights, such as "[Courtney] Love uses venom and sarcasm in her punk music verses" (132), or
"[Chrissie Hynde] has been a vegetarian since 1969 and thinks meat eaters are 'retarded'" (103).
Misspellings about: Carla Bley is "Clara," Cyndi Lauper is "Cindi," Joanne Brackeen "Bracken,"
Loretta Lynn's 1971 hit is given as "Your Looking at Country," and Pozzi Escot appears under
"Pozzi, Escot, Olga." Some sentences are just unintelligible as in "With Bruce Springsteen,
[Joan Baez] was on the 1988 top-ten grossing concerts" (10). Use it at your own risk.
--Susan C. Cook
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Notes in Passing
By Sherrill V. Martin, University of Carolina at Wilmington
Irving Berlin: A Daughter's Memoir
By Mary Ellin Barrett. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994; New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.
Pp. 320. $15.95.
Irving Berlin begins with the scandalous courtship of the thirty-six-year-old Jewish immigrant
and a beautiful twenty-one-year-old Irish-American Catholic (Ellin Mackay), heiris to one of America's
greatest fortunes; it continues through their marriage of more than sixty years. An ASCAP Deems Taylor
Award winner for music biography, Mary Ellin Barrett, Berlin's oldest daughter, provides insightful
portraits of the key figures who helped shape her father's achievements and mirrored his ambition,
success, and crativity; from Franklin Roosevelt to Richard Nixon, Shirley Temple to Fred Astaire, and Pablo
Picasso to Marc Chagall. In this fascinating book, Barrett traces Berlin's career from his early penniless
days on the Lower East Side through his brillian musical career on Broadway and in Hollywood, successfully
creating the human counterpart to the public persona that has captivated America for a century.
A Talent for Genius: The Life and Times of Oscar Levant
Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. Beverly Hills, CA: Silman-James Press, 1998. ISBN 1-879505-39-8.
Pp. 512. $17.95.
Originally published in 1994, this new paperback edition of A Talent for Genius chronicles
the tormented, convulsive, iconoclastic nature of Levant, a magnificently gifted pianist, composer, radio
and television personality, stage and film actor, author, and supreme interpreter of the music of
George Gershwin, his best friend.
Once the highest-paid concert artist in America, eclipsing both Vladimir Horowitz and Artur Rubinstein,
Levant became the first public figure to announce his barbiturate addition and talk openly about his
experiences with psychiatry and mental illness, including schock treatments, drug withdrawal, and
group therapy. "There is a thin line between genius and insanity," Levant once said. "I have
erased that line" (xii).
How Shall We Sing in a Foreign Land? Music of Irish Catholic Immigrants in the Antebellum
United States
Robert R. Grimes, S.J. Notre Dame and London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996. ISBN 0-268-01110-9.
Pp. xi, 237.
In this fascinating book, Grimes documents for the first time the musical life and repertory of Irish
Catholics in the United States between 1830 and 1860. He provides an overview of social and economic
issues that isolated Irish immigrants, analyzes their musical life in antebellum America from
descriptions that appeared in newspapers and journals of the time, and examines the musical changes
during the 1830s in Boston Catholic communities. He focuses on the twenty years just before the
Civil War, investigating three aspects of Irish immigrant music repoertory: canonical music of ritual,
popular music of ritual, and music of popular ritual. Grimes concludes by comparing the musical
life of the Irish immigrant to the wider American musical life of the antebellum and post-Civil War
eras.
Grimes, winner of an AMS 50 fellowship from the American Musicological Society for his work on this
excellent book, documents his sources with numerous notes, and includes a valuable bibliography of
manuscript sources, nineteent-century newspapers and periodcals, and books and articles.
Updated 1/04/99