Perfect pitch : an autobiography / Nicolas Slonimsky ; edited by Electra Slonimsky Yourke.
| Author/creator | Slonimsky, Nicolas |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | New expanded edition. |
| Publication Info | New York : Schirmer Trade Books, ©2002. |
| Description | ix, 318 pages, 16 pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | St. Petersburg -- My grandfather invented the telegraph -- Joyless youth, joyful revolution -- Exodus -- Paris -- Rochester -- Koussevitzkiana -- Boston beginnings -- Three places in New England -- Time out -- Disaster in Hollywood -- Puella -- Lofty baton to lowly pen -- Jailed friend -- Exotic journeys -- Interpolation: Grossmutterakkord -- Back in the family fold -- America loves Russia -- I, Diaskeuast! -- Fame and fortune -- The future of my past -- California, here I come -- The age of absurdity -- Letters -- Oral history -- "Musique" -- Lexicographis secundus post herculem labor. |
| Abstract | This book tells the compelling story of Nicolas Slonimsky. A boy prodigy as a pianist, Slonimsky fled pre-Communist Russia, reaching Paris at the height of another revolution--one in music and the arts. His early association with conductor Serge Koussevitzky brought him into contact with many of the era's greatest talents, including Igor Stravinsky and Serge Prokofiev. Emigrating to Boston in 1925, he embarked on a writing career, authoring key works still in print decades after their first publication, including Music Since 1900, a chronological history; Lexicon of Musical Invective, which proved definitively that new works are rarely understood in their time; and Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, which inspired generations of composers and performers, including jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Known for his sharp wit, Slonimsky appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and was befriended by Frank Zappa. This book captures a life that was rich with discovery and invention and spanned a century of revolutions and explorations. This new edition is enhanced with several previously unpublished photographs, an extensive oral history, and several original essays, some reprinted for the first time. |
| General note | Includes index. |
| ISBN | 0825672740 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML423.S57 A3 2002 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |