Arthur Foote : a musician in the frame of time and place / Nicholas E. Tawa.

Author/creator Tawa, Nicholas E.
Format Book
Publication InfoLanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 1997.
Descriptionxvi, 489 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Subjects
Foote, Arthur, 1853-1937.
Composers--United States. --Biography.

SeriesComposers of North America series ; no. 22
Composers of North America ; no. 22. ^A191193
Contents Part I. Emerging from the New England matrix. Antecedents. General background ; Arthur Foote's parents ; Brother and sister ; Arthur Foote's first years in Salem ; Growing up in Salem -- Salem days. The beginning of music studies in Boston ; Harvard and John Knowles Paine ; Boston and B.J. Lang -- Part II. Joining the Boston community (1976-1889). The Boston community ; The champions of art music ; Young Arthur Foote's Boston ; Arthur Foote, as Bostonians saw him ; Living in Boston ; New friendships ; Trips abroad -- Attitudes and activities. Musical influences ; His temperament and values ; Teacher, performer, and music director, 1876-1889 ; Supporters, benefactors, and advisers -- The composer speaks. The musical craft of Arthur Foote ; Earliest compositions - the first six years ; Compositions for voice of the late eighties ; Compositions for piano of the late eighties ; Chamber and orchestral music of the late eighties -- Part III. The mature composer (1890-1901). Grown man and musical practitioner. Friendships ; Foote and the emergence of the nineties ; Aspects of the late nineties -- Advancing through middle age. From teacher to composer ; The mature composer ; Concerning the music making of his maturity ; More inquiries into style -- The music of the nineties. Vocal compositions ; Keyboard pieces ; Chamber music ; Music for string ensemble and for full orchestra -- Part IV. The modern era (1901-1937). Living in the twentieth century. Affiliations and relationships ; California ; Resuming his life in greater Boston ; Pedagogy ; The man and the musician ; Musical views -- Making music in a new environment. Vocal music ; Keyboard music ; Chamber music ; The two last works for instrumental ensemble -- Epilogue. A chronicle of the thirties ; Denouement ; A summation of a musical life.
Abstract Arthur Foote (1853-1937) was one of the most important American composers who worked creatively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His musical style was at first Germanic in orientation, soon changing to include Anglo-Americanisms and modifications derived from French and Russian composers. His compositions were highly esteemed by his contemporaries. Moreover, today's listeners continue to be struck by the coherency of his music, both in its general form and in its details. They note a command of craft, an integration of tone with desired expression, and an honest straightforward sound that brooks no pretentious complexities or enigmas of meaning. In addition, he was admired as an educator, musical theorist, keyboard performer, and choral music director. His books and articles on keyboard pedagogy and those containing his insightful contemplation of aspects of modulation and third-relationships in musical structures are still of great value. Assiduous as he was in preserving various aspects of his public life in his several scrapbooks, Foote strove to keep his private life out of the public eye. He discouraged the publication of his more personal letters, and late in life even desired their destruction. This book attempts to gather all the available information in order to give information about the man, his life, and his thinking. Lastly, it looks into the music, what it is, why and where it was written, and what its significance is. With bibliography and musical examples.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 375-381) and index.
LCCN 97010070
ISBN081083295X (cloth : alk. paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk ML410.F75 T38 1997 ✔ Available Place Hold