Category Archives: Edna’s Picks

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Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon

From Edna Susman
author: Borowitz, Albert
Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon
Author Albert Borowitz, a graduate of Harvard and a true crime historian, presents us with a fascinating interplay between crime and music.  The book is divided into two parts: the first explores eight famous crimes and crime legends including the alleged killing of Mozart by Antonio Salieri and the murder of John Lennon by Mark Chapman. The second part examines crimes within various musical settings including Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.  True crime aficionados as well as students of music history will enjoy this book.

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Fantasy [sound recording] : a night at the opera.

From Edna Susman
author: Pahud, Emmanuel
Fantasy [sound recording] : a night at the opera
This new classical CD is sure to please opera lovers, flutists as well as classical music lovers. Emmanuel Pahud, the award winning French-Swiss flutist, is joined by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin and assisted by flutist Juliette Hurel in a wonderful collection of well-known operatic themes that have been  transcribed for solo flute and orchestra.  With his exceptional tone and technique, Pahud presents fantasies on themes from Rigoletto, Der Freischutz by Weber, Bizet’s Carmen, Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo and Euridice, Mozart’s Magic Flute and more.

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Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions

From Edna Susman
author: Horowitz, Marc Eden
Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions
Published 8 years after the first edition, this expanded edition includes a new chapter discussing Sondheim’s entire career. It presents an updated song listing and discography which include all works composed and recorded since the previous edition. In the interviews in this edition, Sondheim discusses the art of musical composition, lyric writing, the process of musical theater and his own thoughts regarding his work. An interesting section was added to this edition entitled: “Songs I Wish I’d Written (At Least in Part)” which Sondheim expounded on at a Library of Congress concert in honor of his 70th birthday in 2000.

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Resumes That Pop: Designs That Reflect your Personal Brand

From Edna Susman
author: Criscito, Pat
Resumes That Pop: Designs That Reflect your Personal Brand
The beauty of this book is that it includes close to 200 examples of all possible types of resumes. In addition to executive resumes, curricula vitae and the usual resumes, the author explains how to create one’s electronic resume, including ASCII text resumes for cutting and pasting into e-forms or MS Word files for uploading to career websites. Explanations of social networking sites such as Linkedln, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube is clear and succinct. Sample profiles for these sites are presented as well as information on e-folios, cover letters and blogs.

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YouTube in Music Education

From Edna Susman
author: Rudolph, Thomas
YouTube in Music Education
This is a must for all music teachers, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the practical uses of YouTube.  A small book that packs a lot of information in its 241 pages such as: a brief history of YouTube, why YouTube works in education, from works of the masters to works made by mashers,  creating a YouTube account, navigating your YouTube account,  organizing your videos,  accessing and downloading YouTube videos, YouTube in the music classroom, YouTube lesson plans and much more.

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Harp dreams : inside the USA international harp competition

From Edna Susman
Harp dreams : inside the USA international harp competition.
Most classical music buffs are aware of the major international music competitions. There’s the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in the USA, the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia and the Paganini International Competition in Genoa among many others. How many of us have heard of the USA International Harp Competition? PBS has issued a DVD of the film HARP DREAMS, produced by WTIU Bloomington, Indiana. It is a treasure! The film tells the story of 31 of the best young harpists in the world who converge at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, for the USA International Harp Competition, for 15 days. This takes place every three years and was founded in 1989 by renowned harpist and teacher, Susann McDonald. The competitors, between the ages of 16 and 32, come from all over the world. The prizes include thousands of dollars in prizes, a lucrative recording contract AND a one-of-a-kind, hand-made, Lyon and Healy concert harp. You get to know quite a few of the young harpists personally during the 90 minute film and learn how they prepare for over 2 years for this prestigious competition.

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SENTIR (sound recording)

From Edna Susman
author: Levy, Yasmin
SENTIR (sound recording)
With this, her fifth album, Israeli singer/songwriter, Yasmin Levy, presents songs in her beautiful voice from the Ladino/Judeo-Spanish heritage, mixed with Andolucian Flamenco. The recording itself is clear and very well produced with enjoyable backround musicians on various instruments such as the guitar, bass, bouzouki, ney, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, and piano. Levy has won a number of awards for her albums. Hers is a very different style that can best be summed up in her own words:  “I am proud to combine the two cultures of Ladino and Flamenco, while mixing in Middle Eastern influences. I am embarking on a 500 years old musical journey, taking Ladino to Andalusia and mixing it with Flamenco, the style that still bears the musical memories of the old Moorish and Jewish-Spanish world with the sound of the Arab world. In a way it is a ‘musical reconciliation’ of history.”

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Man With the Golden Flute: Sir James, a Celtic Minstrel

From Edna Susman
author: Galway, James
Man With the Golden Flute: Sir James, a Celtic Minstrel
Considered to be the most televised and recorded classical artist performing today, James Galway, to commemorate his 70th birthday, has shared with us his experiences as a very young child in a poor working-class neighborhood to his current world-renowned reputation. Not just a must read for all flute players, but also for music fans of all genres, Sir James details his difficult beginnings and his rise to super star, crossing all musical boundaries. Classical music lovers will find his tales of collaboration with the pillars in the field such as the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic and more, very charming and
entertaining. Popular music fans will be amazed at his diversity, as he tells of working with the Chieftains and Pink Floyd.

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Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves

From Edna Susman
author: Mach, Elyse
Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves
Classical music lovers are in for a real treat with this book which the library recently acquired. It is a compilation of entertaining interviews, by Professor Elyse Mach, a concert pianist herself, with 25 world renowned pianists. Among the pianists included in the book are Ashkenazy, Badura-Skoda, Bolet, Brendel, de Larrocha, Fleisher, Gould, Horowitz and Watts. The pianists reveal their thoughts about themselves, their careers, music and life as concert pianists. Over 50 black and white photos are included. Originally published in two volumes, this edition combines both volumes into one book.