Landowska on music / collected, edited, and translated by Denise Restout ; assisted by Robert Hawkins.
| Author/creator | Landowska, Wanda author. |
| Other author | Restout, Denise, compiler, editor, translator. |
| Other author | Hawkins, Robert, 1919-1981. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | New York : Stein and Day, [1964] |
| Copyright Date | ©1964 |
| Description | 434 pages, 16 pages of plates : illustrations, facsimiles, music, portraits ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Series | Robert Morris collection |
| Contents | Is music a progressive art? -- The power of sonority is not a novelty -- From Classicism to Romanticism -- Innovations -- Vocal and instrumental music. The eighteenth-century orchestra -- French and Italian music: influence on the Germans. French influences on Bach's keyboard music -- Style -- Tradition in the interpretation of music of the past -- Transcriptions -- Of movement and measure -- About ornaments -- Keyboard instruments. Confusion ; The clavichord ; The harpsichord ; Organ and harpsichord ; The advent of the fortepiano ; Bach's keyboard instruments -- Virtuosity, now and then -- The return of the music of the past -- On the interpretation of Bach's keyboard works. Cantable art ; The two-part inventions ; The well-tempered clavier ; The Goldberg variations ; The fantasias ; The keyboard suites ; The toccatas ; For the lute-harpsichord: Prelude, fugue, and allegro in E flat major ; A descriptive work: Capriccio on the departure of his beloved brother ; A transcription: the Sonata in A minor ; Bach and the Italian concerto grosso ; The keyboard concertos ; The sonatas for harpsichord and violin ; The universality of Bach -- George Frederic Handel. The harpsichord suites ; The concerto in B flat major -- Domenico Scarlatti. The sonatas -- A glorious trinity -- French music of the past. Jacques Champion de Chambonnières ; François Couperin le Grand ; Jean Philippe Rameau ; Chopin and French music of the past ; La bourrée d'Auvergne -- Polish music of the past. Polish composers ; Influence of Polish music on foreign composers ; Polish folklore -- English music of the past. At the time of Shakespeare ; Purcell's ground and the Portuguese fado -- The gallant style. Wilhelm Friedemann and Karl Philipp Emanuel Bach ; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ; J.F.C. Lanner ; Joseph Haydn -- Thoughts on modern music. Why does modern music lack melody? ; At random from Saint-Saëns to Poulenc -- Is music of the past understood today? About music of the past and us ; The art of listening ; Fluctuations in taste ; Authenticity in the interpretation of music of the past ; On musicology ; Blessings and failures in recordings -- The making of an interpreter. About genius and gifts ; About teaching ; How to work -- Reflections on some problems of interpretation. On fingering ; On touch ; About phrasing ; On registration ; About rhythm ; On tempo ; About allargando ; About rubato ; The dance in music of the past ; Rhythmic alterations ; Interpreting the ornaments ; The role of the accompanying harpsichordist ; About climax and monotony ; Encores -- The mysteries of interpretation. Criticism ; The liberties I take ; Being an interpreter. |
| Abstract | Here for the first time in any language are large sections from Wanda Landowska's previously unpublished notebooks. Here also are Landowska's writings in French during half a century, much of it translated for the first time, as well as the complete text of her book Musique Ancienne, first published in France in 1909, later in English, and now completely retranslated and revised in accordance with Landowska's wishes. The layman who admires Landowska's work, as well as persons with a professional interest in music, will discover in these pages the joy, insight, hope, zeal, compassionate understanding, and wondrous simplicity which made Landowska such a great teacher. The section of photographs is in itself a source of pleasure and revelation. Wanda Landowska was born in Poland in 1879, where, as a child prodigy, she was reared in the prevailing romantic tradition and became a piano virtuoso and composer. But she was irresistably attracted to the music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, broke with her environment and without guidance boldly pioneered the rediscovery of ancient music. She revived the use of the harpsichord and rediscovered its technique, becoming in her lifetime one of the most accomplished and revered musical performers of the twentieth century. She came to the United States to live in 1941 and died in Lakeville, Connecticut in 1959. |
| Bibliography note | "Landowska discography": pages 411-422. |
| Biographical note | Denise Restout was for twenty-six years the disciple, assistant, and constant companion of Wanda Landowska. An accomplished harpsichordist in her own right, she was bequeathed Landowska's documents on music, her library, and her musical instruments. To this day she continues to teach Landowska's pupils in her house in Lakeville. Miss Restout's introduction contributes to this volume the remarkable story of Landowska's musical development. Robert Hawkins, a friend of Wanda Landowska, is a Master in English on the faculty of the Hotchkiss School and collaborated with Denise Restout in the preparation of this book. |
| LCCN | 64022698 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML417.L26 A33 1964 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |