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Stravinsky: France and America, 1934-1971
by Stephen WalshPicking up where the first volume left off, Walsh, a critic and musicologist at Cardiff U. , continues his biography of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) from 1934 in France to his death in 1971. The biography follows his life and career from Paris to America, during a time when his wife died, he remarried, composed neoclassical works such as The Rake's Progress and Symphony in C, and dabbled in serialism. The first volume of the biography is Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France, 1882-1934, which was published in 1999. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France, 1882-1934 (New Grove Composer Biographies Ser.)
by Stephen WalshWidely regarded the greatest composer of the twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky was central to the development of modernism in art. Deeply influential and wonderfully productive, he is remembered for dozens of masterworks, from The Firebird and The Rite of Spring to The Rake's Progress, but no dependable biography of him exists. Previous studies have relied too heavily on his own unreliable memoirs and conversations, and until now no biographer has possessed both the musical knowledge to evaluate his art and the linguistic proficiency needed to explore the documentary background of his life--a life whose span extended from tsarist Russia to Switzerland, France, and ultimately the United States.In this revealing volume, the first of two, Stephen Walsh follows Stravinsky from his birth in 1882 to 1934. He traces the composer's early Russian years in new and fascinating detail, laying bare the complicated relationships within his family and showing how he first displayed his extraordinary talents within the provincial musical circle around his teacher, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Stravinsky's brilliantly creative involvement with the Ballets Russes is illuminated by a sharp sense of the internal artistic politics that animated the group. Portraying Stravinsky's circumstances as an émigré in France trying to make his living as a conductor and pianist as well as a composer while beset by emotional and financial demands, Walsh reveals the true roots of his notorious obsession with money during the 1920s and describes with sympathy the nature of his long affair with Vera Sudeykina.While always respecting Stravinsky's own insistence that life and art be kept distinct, Stravinsky makes clear precisely how the development of his music was connected to his life and to the intellectual environment in which he found himself. But at the same time it demonstrates the composer's remarkably pragmatic psychology, which led him to consider the welfare of his art to be of paramount importance, before which everything else had to give way. Hence, for example, his questionable attitude toward Hitler and Mussolini, and his reputation as a touchy, unpredictable man as famous for his enmities as for his friendships.Stephen Walsh, long established as an expert on Stravinsky's music, has drawn upon a vast array of material, much of it unpublished or unavailable in English, to bring the man himself, in all his color and genius, to glowing life. Written with elegance and energy, comprehensive, balanced, and original, Stravinsky is essential reading for anyone interested in the adventure of art in our time.Praise from the British press for Stephen Walsh's The Music of Stravinsky "One of the finest general studies of the composer."--Wilfrid Mellers, composer, Times Literary Supplement"The beautiful prose of The Music of Stravinsky is itself a fund of arresting images. For those who already love Stravinsky's music, Walsh's essays on each work will bring a smile of recognition and joy at new kernels of insight. For those unfamiliar with many of the works he discusses, Walsh's commentaries are likely to whet appetites for performances of the works."--John Shepherd, Notes"This book sent me scurrying back to the scores and made me want to recommend it to other people. Above all, it is a good read."--Anthony Pople, Music and Letters
Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention
by Charles M. JosephThis book is about the collaboration of some of the greatest artists in the twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky and George Balanchine.
Stravinsky and His World (The Bard Music Festival #33)
by Tamara LevitzA new look at one of the most important composers of the twentith centuryStravinsky and His World brings together an international roster of scholars to explore fresh perspectives on the life and music of Igor Stravinsky. Situating Stravinsky in new intellectual and musical contexts, the essays in this volume shed valuable light on one of the most important composers of the twentieth century.Contributors examine Stravinsky's interaction with Spanish and Latin American modernism, rethink the stylistic label "neoclassicism" with a section on the ideological conflict over his lesser-known opera buffa Mavra, and reassess his connections to his homeland, paying special attention to Stravinsky's visit to the Soviet Union in 1962. The essays also explore Stravinsky's musical and religious differences with Arthur Lourié, delve into Stravinsky's collaboration with Pyotr Suvchinsky and Roland-Manuel in the genesis of his groundbreaking Poetics of Music, and look at how the movement within stasis evident in the scores of Stravinsky's Orpheus and Oedipus Rex reflected the composer's fierce belief in fate. Rare documents—including Spanish and Mexican interviews, Russian letters, articles by Arthur Lourié, and rarely seen French and Russian texts—supplement the volume, bringing to life Stravinsky's rich intellectual milieu and intense personal relationships.The contributors are Tatiana Baranova, Leon Botstein, Jonathan Cross, Valérie Dufour, Gretchen Horlacher, Tamara Levitz, Klára Móricz, Leonora Saavedra, and Svetlana Savenko.
Stravinsky and the Russian Period:
by Pieter C. van den Toorn John McginnessVan den Toorn and McGinness take a fresh look at the dynamics of Stravinsky's musical style from a variety of analytical, critical and aesthetic angles. Starting with processes of juxtaposition and stratification, the book offers an in-depth analysis of works such as The Rite of Spring, Les Noces and Renard. Characteristic features of style, melody and harmony are traced to rhythmic forces, including those of metrical displacement. Along with Stravinsky's formalist aesthetics, the strict performing style he favoured is also traced to rhythmic factors, thus reversing the direction of the traditional causal relationship. Here, aesthetic belief and performance practice are seen as flowing directly from the musical invention. The book provides a counter-argument to the criticism and aesthetics of T. W. Adorno and Richard Taruskin, and will appeal to composers, critics and performers as well as scholars of Stravinsky's music.
Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions, Volume One: A Biography of the Works through Mavra
by Richard TaruskinThis book undoes 50 years of mythmaking about Stravinsky's life in music. During his spectacular career, Igor Stravinsky underplayed his Russian past in favor of a European cosmopolitanism. Richard Taruskin has refused to take the composer at his word. In this long-awaited study, he defines Stravinsky's relationship to the musical and artistic traditions of his native land and gives us a dramatically new picture of one of the major figures in the history of music. Taruskin draws directly on newly accessible archives and on a wealth of Russian documents. In Volume One, he sets the historical scene: the St. Petersburg musical press, the arts journals, and the writings of anthropologists, folklorists, philosophers, and poets. Volume Two addresses the masterpieces of Stravinsky's early maturity—Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and Les Noces. Taruskin investigates the composer's collaborations with Diaghilev to illuminate the relationship between folklore and modernity. He elucidates the Silver Age ideal of "neonationalism"—the professional appropriation of motifs and style characteristics from folk art—and how Stravinsky realized this ideal in his music. Taruskin demonstrates how Stravinsky achieved his modernist technique by combining what was most characteristically Russian in his musical training with stylistic elements abstracted from Russian folklore. The stylistic synthesis thus achieved formed Stravinsky as a composer for life, whatever the aesthetic allegiances he later professed. Written with Taruskin's characteristic mixture of in-depth research and stylistic verve, this book will be mandatory reading for all those seriously interested in the life and work of Stravinsky.
Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions, Volume Two: A Biography of the Works through Mavra
by Richard TaruskinThis book undoes 50 years of mythmaking about Stravinsky's life in music. During his spectacular career, Igor Stravinsky underplayed his Russian past in favor of a European cosmopolitanism. Richard Taruskin has refused to take the composer at his word. In this long-awaited study, he defines Stravinsky's relationship to the musical and artistic traditions of his native land and gives us a dramatically new picture of one of the major figures in the history of music. Taruskin draws directly on newly accessible archives and on a wealth of Russian documents. In Volume One, he sets the historical scene: the St. Petersburg musical press, the arts journals, and the writings of anthropologists, folklorists, philosophers, and poets. Volume Two addresses the masterpieces of Stravinsky's early maturity—Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and Les Noces. Taruskin investigates the composer's collaborations with Diaghilev to illuminate the relationship between folklore and modernity. He elucidates the Silver Age ideal of "neonationalism"—the professional appropriation of motifs and style characteristics from folk art—and how Stravinsky realized this ideal in his music. Taruskin demonstrates how Stravinsky achieved his modernist technique by combining what was most characteristically Russian in his musical training with stylistic elements abstracted from Russian folklore. The stylistic synthesis thus achieved formed Stravinsky as a composer for life, whatever the aesthetic allegiances he later professed. Written with Taruskin's characteristic mixture of in-depth research and stylistic verve, this book will be mandatory reading for all those seriously interested in the life and work of Stravinsky.
Stravinsky in Context (Composers in Context)
by Graham GriffithsStravinsky in Context offers an alternative to chronological biography. Thirty-five short, specially commissioned essays explore the eventful life-tapestry from which Stravinsky's compositions emerged. The opening chapters draw on new research into the composer's childhood in St. Petersburg. Stravinsky's early, often traumatic upbringing is examined in depth, particularly in the context of his brother Roman's death, and religious sensibilities within the family. Further essays consider Stravinsky's years in exile at the centre of dynamic and ever-evolving cultural environments, the composer constantly refining his idiom and re-defining his aesthetics against a backdrop of world events and personal tragedy. The closing chapters review new material regarding Stravinsky's complicated relationship with the Soviet Union, whilst also anticipating his legacy from the varied perspectives of publishing, research and even - in the iconic example of The Rite of Spring - space exploration. The book includes previously unpublished images of the composer and his family.
Stravinsky in the Americas: Transatlantic Tours and Domestic Excursions from Wartime Los Angeles (1925-1945) (California Studies in 20th-Century Music #23)
by H. Colin SlimStravinsky in the Americas explores the “pre-Craft” period of Igor Stravinsky’s life, from when he first landed on American shores in 1925 to the end of World War II in 1945. Through a rich archival trove of ephemera, correspondence, photographs, and other documents, eminent musicologist H. Colin Slim examines the twenty-year period that began with Stravinsky as a radical European art-music composer and ended with him as a popular figure in American culture. This collection traces Stravinsky’s rise to fame—catapulted in large part by his collaborations with Hollywood and Disney and marked by his extra-marital affairs, his grappling with feelings of anti-Semitism, and his encounters with contemporary musicians as the music industry was emerging and taking shape in midcentury America. Slim’s lively narrative records the composer’s larger-than-life persona through a close look at his transatlantic tours and domestic excursions, where Stravinsky’s personal and professional life collided in often-dramatic ways.
Stravinsky Inside Out
by Charles M. JosephRevealing Igor Stravinsky's two sides--the public persona and the private composer--this complex portrait draws upon an array of unpublished materials and rereleased film clips from the composer's huge archive at the Paul Sacher Institute in Switzerland.
Stravinsky Retrospectives
by Ethan Haimo and Paul JohnsonIgor Stravinsky left behind masterpieces in every major genre and worked in each of the most significant compositional styles of the twentieth century. His output was staggering, his innovations far-reaching and sometimes scandalous. Stravinsky Retrospectives puts the diverse achievements of this protean composer into critical and historical perspective. The contributors provide a variety of perspectives on Stravinsky&’s work and career. Richard Taruskin examines Stravinsky&’s use of text, its relation to Russian folk music, and its consequences for his rhythmic practice. Milton Babbitt vastly extends our knowledge of Stravinsky&’s twelve-tone procedures. Paul Johnson, Ethan Haimo, and Joseph Straus all examine Stravinsky&’s neoclassical works. Claudio Spies looks at the early Russian influences on Stravinsky, and William Austin provides a nuanced analysis of Stravinsky&’s historical importance and of recent research on his many compositions.
Stravinsky's Piano
by Graham GriffithsStravinsky's reinvention in the early 1920s, as both neoclassical composer and concert-pianist, is here placed at the centre of a fundamental reconsideration of his whole output – viewed from the unprecedented perspective of his relationship with the piano. Graham Griffiths assesses Stravinsky's musical upbringing in St Petersburg with emphasis on his education at the hands of two extraordinary teachers whom he later either ignored or denounced: Leokadiya Kashperova, for piano and Rimsky-Korsakov, for instrumentation. Their message, Griffiths argues, enabled Stravinsky to formulate from that intensely Russian experience an internationalist brand of neoclassicism founded upon the premises of objectivity and craft. Drawing directly on the composer's manuscripts, Griffiths addresses Stravinsky's lifelong fascination with counterpoint and with pianism's constructive processes. Stravinsky's Piano presents both of these as recurring features of the compositional attitudes that Stravinsky consistently applied to his works, whether Russian, neoclassical or serial and regardless of idiom and genre.
Strawberry Swing: A Children's Picture Book (LyricPop #0)
by Coldplay Mitch MillerColdplay’s warm and infectious hit song “Strawberry Swing” finds a perfect vessel in this gentle picture book for children. "I remember We were walking up to strawberry swing I can't wait till the mornin
Strayhorn
by Produced by Billy Strayhorn Songs Inc. Contributions by David Hajdu Walter van de Leur Robert Levi Bruce Mayhall Rastrelli Gregory A. Morris Edited by A. Alyce Claerbaut David SchlesingerStrayhorn: An Illustrated Life is a stunning collection of essays, photographs, and ephemera celebrating Billy Strayhorn, one of the most significant yet under-appreciated contributors to 20th century American music. Released in commemoration of Strayhorn's centennial, this luxurious coffee-table book offers intimate details of the composer's life from musicians, scholars, and Strayhorn's closest relatives. Perhaps best known for his 28-year collaborative role as Duke Ellington's "writing and arranging companion," Strayhorn has emerged in recent years as an even more meritorious force in shaping the jazz canon. Strayhorn begins by describing Billy's abusive upbringing and early success, and goes on to cover his music, family, intellectual pursuits, involvement with civil rights, and open homosexuality. Strayhorn features contributions from Strayhorn's biographer David Hajdu, film director Rob Levi, music scholar Walter van de Leur, as well as commentary from jazz greats like Lena Horne, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, Terell Stafford, Herb Jeffries, and more. With lush photography and rare memorabilia like handwritten scores, this is a book to be treasured by jazz aficionados and music lovers everywhere. Enthralling and visually captivating, Strayhorn: An Illustrated Life lauds a beloved jazz legend and captures a prodigious legacy that will influence generations to come.
Street Ballads in Nineteenth-Century Britain, Ireland, and North America: The Interface between Print and Oral Traditions
by David Atkinson Steve RoudIn recent years, the assumption that traditional songs originated from a primarily oral tradition has been challenged by research into ’street literature’ - that is, the cheap printed broadsides and chapbooks that poured from the presses of jobbing printers from the late sixteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth. Not only are some traditional singers known to have learned songs from printed sources, but most of the songs were composed by professional writers and reached the populace in printed form. Street Ballads in Nineteenth-Century Britain, Ireland, and North America engages with the long-running debate over the origin of traditional songs by examining street literature’s interaction with, and influence on, oral traditions.
A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life
by James BowenThe Instant New York Times Bestseller! James is a street musician struggling to make ends meet. Bob is a stray cat looking for somewhere warm to sleep. When James and Bob meet, they forge a never-to-be-forgotten friendship that has been charming readers from Thailand to Turkey. A Street Cat Named Bob is an international sensation, landing on the bestseller list in England for 52 consecutive weeks and selling in 26 countries around the world. Now, James and Bob are ready to share their true story with the U. S. in this tale unlike any you’ve ever read of a cat who possesses some kind of magic. When street musician James Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, barely making enough money to feed himself, and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent but very sick animal, whom he named Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining that he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas. Perfect for fans of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog and Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat That Changed the World, this instant classic about the power of love between man and animal has taken the world by storm and is guaranteed to be a huge hit with American fans as well. Note: Does not use standard American spelling or punctuation.
The Street Is My Pulpit: Hip Hop and Christianity in Kenya
by Mwenda NtarangwiTo some, Christianity and hip hop seem antithetical. Not so in Kenya. There, the music of Julius Owino, aka Juliani, blends faith and beats into a potent hip hop gospel aimed at a youth culture hungry for answers spiritual, material, and otherwise. Mwenda Ntarangwi explores the Kenyan hip hop scene through the lens of Juliani's life and career. A born-again Christian, Juliani produces work highlighting the tensions between hip hop's forceful self-expression and a pious approach to public life, even while contesting the basic presumptions of both. In The Street Is My Pulpit , Ntarangwi forges an uncommon collaboration with his subject that offers insights into Juliani's art and goals even as Ntarangwi explores his own religious experience and subjective identity as an ethnographer. What emerges is an original contribution to the scholarship on hip hop's global impact and a passionate study of the music's role in shaping new ways of being Christian in Africa.
Stretching Exercises for Guitarists
by Gareth Evansi>“Highly recommended to any musician who would like to improve and enrich his warm-up routine.” Lorenzo Micheli, Concert Classical Guitarist (Italy)“This is a book that every guitarist should have, a great tool that will help keep you playing.” Victor D'Ablaing, MFA in Classical Guitar performance (Georgia US)Stretching Exercises for Guitarists is a compact guide that can be used as part of a healthy and productive practise regime suited for guitarists and other musicians alike.- Stretching Like the importance of stretching for sport, stretching for musicians is important, yet an often overlooked aspect of many a practise regime. Whether you are a beginner finding it hard to stretch their fretting fingers to get a clear open G or C chord, or a more experienced player wanting fluent movement when playing at speed, stretching exercises encourage lengthening of your muscles and their associated tendons thereby improving your mobility and range of movement. Stretching opposes the shortening and tightening of muscles that can occur immediately after use and contributes to injury avoidance.- Diagrams and More All 30 exercises are demonstrated with over 40 professionally hand-drawn illustrations, starting from the top at the neck and shoulders, working down to the back, forearms, wrists, fingers and thumbs. Some stretches are graded from easier versions to the more difficult so you can choose which suits your level. Stretching Exercises for Guitarists also includes exercises for nerve mobility and has tips for posture and practise.Grab a copy today!“I like the simple instructions and clear drawings which rule out any potential misinterpretations. If you have been lazy about warming up for playing or practicing, trying a couple of exercises from this book will help you remember and experience how beneficial this part of your practice routine is.” Ingo Stahl - Singer, Guitarist and Songwriter (Denmark) “I find the book very thorough yet concise. As a Classical guitarist I would have liked to see some mention of the use of a footstool. Other than that the book is excellent.” Alan Grundy, MA in Performance and Musicology, F.T.C.L. - L.R.S.M. Hon. V.C.M. (The Dublin School of Guitar)
String Methods for Beginners
by Selim GirayString Methods for Beginners is designed for students to receive the essential playing and teaching skills on all orchestral string instruments. The goal of this textbook is to be truly methodical in its approach, and to assist the instructor, completely eliminating the need to do additional research, or reorganization in preparation to teach this class. Students will gain the basic knowledge and experience to teach bowed stringed instruments in public schools. String Methods for Beginners covers the necessary topics to learn and teach the violin, viola, cello, and string bass. It explores the fundamentals of those instruments and teaching considerations, utilizing a heterogeneous approach. As the primary resource to any college- and university-level String Techniques, String Methods, or Instrumental Methods class, this course book fits into a standard semester, comprised of 25 lessons, which correspond with two hourly classes per week for the term. It provides the instructor with the tools to teach a classroom of non-majors or string education majors, or a mixed classroom of both. FEATURES Offers a blueprint for a semester long string methods course. For beginning students, and also comprehensive for more in-depth study or for reference. Logical, step-by-step "recipe-like" approach.
The String Quartet, 1750–1797: Four Types of Musical Conversation
by Mara ParkerThe second half of the eighteenth century witnessed a flourishing of the string quartet, often represented as a smooth and logical progression from first violin-dominated homophony to a more equal conversation between the four voices. Yet this progression was neither as smooth nor as linear as previously thought, as Mara Parker illustrates in her examination of the string quartet during this period. Looking at a wide variety of string quartets by composers such as Pleyel, Distler and Filtz, in addition to Haydn and Mozart, the book proposes a new way of describing the relationships between the four instruments in different works. Broadly speaking, these relationships follow one of four patterns: the 'lecture', the 'polite conversation', the 'debate', and the 'conversation'. In focusing on these musical discourses, it becomes apparent that each work is the product of its composer's stylistic choices, location, intended performers and intended audience. Instead of evolving in a strict and universal sequence, the string quartet in the latter half of the eighteenth century was a complex genre with composers mixing and matching musical discourses as circumstances and their own creative impulses required.
String Quartets: A Research and Information Guide (Routledge Music Bibliographies)
by Mara ParkerThis research guide is an annotated bibliography of sources dealing with the string quartet. This second edition is organized as in the original publication (chapters for general references, histories, individual composers, aspects of performance, facsimiles and critical editions, and miscellaneous topics) and has been updated to cover research since publication of the first edition. Listings in the previous volume have been updated to reflect the burgeoning interest in this genre (social aspects, newly issued critical editions, doctoral dissertations). It also offers commentary on online links, databases, and references.
String Quartets by Debussy and Ravel: Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10/Debussy; Quartet in F Major/Ravel (Dover Chamber Music Scores)
by Maurice Ravel Claude DebussyFew composers of the 20th century have wielded more influence in the musical world than the two "impressionist" masters represented in this volume. Such composers as Webern, Bartók, Varèse, Messianen, and even John Cage owe a debt to Debussy's innovations in harmony, coloring, and psychological penetration.Similarly, Ravel's achievements in pianistic style, sophisticated harmonies, and bold experiments with form had a profound effect on both contemporary and later musicians. Each composer wrote only one string quartet, but by virtue of their individuality, unique interpretations of the medium and delicate and subtle beauties, both compositions enjoy a special place in the chamber music repertoire.This attractive, high-quality volume, based on authoritative French editions, brings both influential masterpieces together in one inexpensive resource. Clearly printed and sturdily bound for long life on the music stand, this book will enable musicians and music lovers to study, compare, and delight in two landmarks of the string quartet genre.
The String Quartets of Beethoven
by William KindermanWe do not understand music--it understands us. <P><P> This aphorism by Theodor W. Adorno expresses the quandary and the fascination many listeners have felt in approaching Beethoven's late quartets. No group of compositions occupies a more central position in chamber music, yet the meaning of these works continues to stimulate debate. <P> William Kinderman's The String Quartets of Beethoven stands as the most detailed and comprehensive exploration of the subject. It collects new work by leading international scholars who draw on a variety of historical sources and analytical approaches to offer fresh insights into the aesthetics of the quartets, probing expressive and structural features that have hitherto received little attention. This volume also includes an appendix with updated information on the chronology and sources of the quartets and a detailed bibliography.
Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Legend (Music in American Life)
by Taylor HagoodA beloved member of the country music community, David “Stringbean” Akeman found nationwide fame as a cast member of Hee Haw. The 1973 murder of Stringbean and his wife forever changed Nashville’s sense of itself. Millions of others mourned not only the slain couple but the passing of the way of life that country music had long represented. Taylor Hagood merges the story of Stringbean’s life with an account of murder and courtroom drama. Mentored by Uncle Dave Macon and Bill Monroe, Stringbean was a bridge to country’s early days. His instrumental savvy and old-time singing style drew upon a deep love for traditional country music that, along with his humor and humanity, won him the reverence of younger artists and made his violent death all the more shocking. Hagood delves into the unexpected questions and uneasy resolutions raised by the atmosphere of retribution surrounding the murder trial and recounts the redemption story that followed decades later.
Strings Attached (Orca Limelights)
by Diane DakersBrielle and Tawni have played cello side by side in orchestras since they were nine years old. Brielle has always played second chair to Tawni’s first, and she's been happy with that arrangement. When Tawni is injured, Brielle suddenly finds herself principal cellist. Not only does that mean she'll be thrust into the spotlight, but it also means she is now leader of the cello section. Brielle is terrified. Is she good enough? Will the other musicians accept her? What if she screws up? Despite her fears, Brielle rises to the occasion. Her cello skills, and her leadership skills, improve as she grows into her new role. But just as Brielle is beginning to feel confident, Tawni returns. And she wants her job back. If Brielle steps down now, she'll lose her place in the spotlight. If she doesn't, her friendship could be in jeopardy.