Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle

Synopsis

In the first full-scale biography of a dominating figure in twentieth-century American music, Anthony Tommasini tells the richly textured story of Virgil Thomson's experiences as a composer, influential critic, and gay man. Writing with exclusive, full access to Thomson's papers and from extensive interviews and research, he recounts: Thomson's early years in turn-of-the-century Kansas City's strange mixture of antebellum racial divides. . . his first steps in the arts, guided by a troubled older man, himself a closeted homosexual in a time when disclosure could destroy a life. . . the crystallizing of his musical ambitions as an often-contentious student of Nadia Boulanger's in Paris. . . his pioneering collaboration with Gertrude Stein on Four Saints in Three Acts. . . his rivalry with fellow composers such as Aaron Copland. . . how he settled personal scores and advanced his own agenda during his reign on the New York Herald Tribune as America's most important, and best, music critic. . . his lasting impact on, and sometimes troubled interactions with, younger composers such as Leonard Bernstein, John Cage, Paul Bowles, Ned Rorem, and Philip Glass. . . and through it all the unending struggle to write, and win an audience for, music that spoke directly and simply to the life of his time. --BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Copyright:

1997

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

605 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780393040067

Publisher:

W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated

Date of Addition:

01/07/13

Copyrighted By:

Anthony Tommasini

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Entertainment, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender, Music

Submitted By:

Terry Gorman

Proofread By:

Terry Gorman

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.