The Real Toscanini

The Real Toscanini
Author: Cesare Civetta
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1574674161

(Amadeus). Lauded by Verdi, Debussy, and other music legends, the celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini raised the standards of orchestral and operatic performance over an astonishing 69 years on the podium. But as he did so, he acquired a reputation as something of a tyrant, who unleashed an explosive temper at musicians if rehearsals did not meet his expectations. In The Real Toscanini , Cesare Civetta presents an intriguing collection of vivid, one-of-a-kind interviews with artists who performed with Toscanini. A portrait of the inner workings of the maestro emerges through these extensive conversations, conducted by the author over a period of 20 years, together with other firsthand recollections. These accounts clarify Toscanini's philosophy, musical style, and techniques. They depict a man tormented by inner demons of anger and depression, which were easily triggered by his frustration at being unable to produce the musical ideal in his mind's ear. Toscanini is also revealed as a vehement anti-Fascist and an unequivocal opponent of totalitarianism and racism he defied Mussolini and publically opposed Hitler. The book includes a comprehensive account of his 1936 inauguration of what is now known as the Israel Philharmonic, in solidarity with Jewish refugee musicians. Toscanini comes through in this book as a tortured but deeply humane individual who strove to constantly improve a sincere and humble musician who was nevertheless the preeminent maestro of the 20th century.

The Politics of Verdi's Cantica

The Politics of Verdi's Cantica
Author: Roberta Montemorra Marvin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1351541447

The Politics of Verdi's Cantica treats a singular case study of the use of music to resist oppression, combat evil, and fight injustice. Cantica, better known as Inno delle nazioni / Hymn of the Nations, commissioned from Italy's foremost composer to represent the newly independent nation at the 1862 London International Exhibition, served as a national voice of pride and of protest for Italy across two centuries and in two very different political situations. The book unpacks, for the first time, the full history of Verdi's composition from its creation, performance, and publication in the 1860s through its appropriation as purposeful social and political commentary and its perception by American broadcast media as a 'weapon of art' in the mid twentieth century. Based on largely untapped primary archival and other documentary sources, journalistic writings, and radio and film scripts, the project discusses the changing meanings of the composition over time. It not only unravels the complex history of the work in the nineteenth century, of greater significance it offers the first fully documented study of the performances, radio broadcast, and filming of the work by the renowned Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini during World War II. In presenting new evidence about ways in which Verdi's music was appropriated by expatriate Italians and the US government for cross-cultural propaganda in America and Italy, it addresses the intertwining of Italian and American culture with regard to art, politics, and history; and investigates the ways in which the press and broadcast media helped construct a musical weapon that traversed ethnic, aesthetic, and temporal boundaries to make a strong political statement.

Bayreuth

Bayreuth
Author: Frederic Spotts
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 1994-01-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780300066654

Providing an overall account of the history of the Wagner festival, a critical analysis of its performers, productions, and enthusiasts establishes its remarkable beginnings, controversial associations, and surprising successes

Cursed Questions

Cursed Questions
Author: Richard Taruskin
Publisher: University of California Press
Total Pages: 461
Release: 2020-04-21
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0520344286

Richard Taruskin’s sweeping collection of essays distills a half century of professional experience, demonstrating an unparalleled insider awareness of relevant debates in all areas of music studies, including historiography and criticism, representation and aesthetics, musical and professional politics, and the sociology of taste. Cursed Questions, invoking a famous catchphrase from Russian intellectual history, grapples with questions that are never finally answered but never go away. The writings gathered here form an intellectual biography that showcases the characteristic wit, provocation, and erudition that readers have come to expect from Taruskin, making it an essential volume for anyone interested in music, politics, and the arts.

Italy and Its Monarchy

Italy and Its Monarchy
Author: Denis Mack Smith
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 436
Release: 1989-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780300051322

This book presents a study of the Italian monarchy and its impact on Italy's history, from Unification in 1861 to the foundation of the Italian republic after World War II.

The Italian Americans: A History

The Italian Americans: A History
Author: Maria Laurino
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2014-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0393241963

This richly researched, beautifully illustrated volume illuminates an important, overlooked part of American history. From extensive archival materials and interviews with well-known Italian Americans, Maria Laurino strips away stereotypes and nostalgia to tell the complicated, centuries-long story of the true Italian-American experience. Looking beyond the familiar Little Italys and stereotypes fostered by The Godfather and The Sopranos, Laurino reveals surprising, fascinating lives: Italian-Americans working on sugar-cane plantations in Louisiana to those who were lynched in New Orleans; the banker who helped rebuild San Francisco after the great earthquake; families interned as “enemy aliens” in World War II. From anarchist radicals to “Rosie the Riveter” to Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo, and Bill de Blasio; from traditional artisans to rebel songsters like Frank Sinatra, Dion, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, this book is both exploration and celebration of the rich legacy of Italian-American life. Readers can discover the history chronologically, chapter by chapter, or serendipitously by exploring the trove of supplemental materials. These include interviews, newspaper clippings, period documents, and photographs that bring the history to life.

A Sound Tradition

A Sound Tradition
Author: Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz
Publisher: Amalthea Signum Verlag
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2017-11-14
Genre: Music
ISBN: 3903083852

From Vienna into the World What would Vienna be without the Philharmonic? 175 years have passed since the founding of this world-class orchestra in March of 1842, 175 years in which the musicians have provided their public countless glorious musical experiences. Their inimitable and unmistakable sound has aroused truly rapturous enthusiasm everywhere. Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz tells us of the milestones in the Philharmonic's history—collaboration with great conductors, the special quality of the "Viennese sound," the daily work of an international orchestra—and in so doing unearths memorable anecdotes from behind the scenes. With extensive illustrations and photographs from the Vienna Philharmonic archive

Towards Resilient Organizations and Societies

Towards Resilient Organizations and Societies
Author: Rómulo Pinheiro
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2021-11-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030820726

This open access book brings together scholars in the fields of management, public policy, regional studies, and organization theory around the concept of resilience. The aim is to provide a more holistic understanding of the complex phenomenon of resilience from a multi-sectorial, cross-national, and multidisciplinary perspective. The book facilitates a conversation across diverse disciplinary specializations and empirical domains. The authors contribute both to theory testing and theory development and provide key empirical insights useful for societies, organizations, and individuals experiencing disruptive pressures, not least in the context of a post-COVID-19 world. Diverse chapters are held together by a clear organization of the volume across levels of analysis (resilience in organizations and societies) and by an original perspective on resilience derived from an extended review, by the editors, of the existing literature and knowledge gaps, according to which each of the individual chapter contributions is positioned and connected to.