Bibliography from Eastman Classes in the 1970s
I recently rediscovered an old bibliography on notecards from my student days and converted it into this list. The books were recommended reading during my years at Eastman in the mid-1970s. In particular, the books on aesthetics were recommended by my composition professor Warren Benson. Many of these books are still interesting, although they may be hard to find. I've linked to Amazon with an affiliate link when I could find the book there.
I should have read most of these books, but I don't remember how many I actually read. While making this new list, I was inspired to get Archibald MacLeish's Poetry and Experience from my local library; it inspired me with a wonderfully rational view into the truth expressed by poetry. When I write for percussion, I still use my copy of Brindle's Contemporary Percussion. I have Gardner Read's Music Notation, although I'm more likely to look at Kurt Stone's more recent Music Notation in the Twentieth Century (1980). I see that there is an updated edition of Gardner Read's book. I should check it out.
Topics Horn Music Theory and Composition: Aesthetics Art Biography Essay Notation Orchestration Survey Theory
Horn
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farkas | Philip | The Art of French Horn Playing | Practical manual | 1956 | Updated in 1995. |
| Gregory | Robin | The Horn | Instrument history and present models. Playing technique. | 1961 | |
| Karstadt | Georg | Lasst lustig die Hörner erschallen! | In German. A “short history of hunting music”. History and treatment of horn by composers through hunting calls. Pictures and examples. | 1964 | |
| Morley-Pegge | R. | The French horn | Evolution of technique, players, odd items of interest. Some highly complex technical info. Good historical view. | 1973 | Updated 1978? |
| Schuller | Gunther | Horn Technique | Practical problems | 1962 | 2nd edition 1992. |
| Yancich | Milan | A practical guide to French horn playing | 1971 |
Music Theory and Composition
Aesthetics
On my notecards, I noted that all but the first were recommended by my composition professor Warren Benson.
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barzun | Jacques | Darwin Marx Wagner | Ideology and influence on musical aesthetics | 1941 | Univ of Chicago Press, 1981. Also, Reprint Barzun Press 2007. |
| Cary | Joyce | Art and Reality | Doubleday Anchor book. | 1958 | Facsimile edition. |
| Cummings | E.E. | Six Nonlectures | Atheneum (publisher) | 1953 | Harvard Univ. Press edition, 1991. |
| Hofmann | Hans | Search for the Real | MIT Press. | 1967 | MIT Press |
| MacLeish | Archibald | Poetry and Experience | Peregrine (publisher) | 1964 | Penguin paperback. |
| Rilke | Rainer Maria | Letters to a Young Poet | 1929 | ||
| Roethke | Theodore | On the Poet and his Craft | 1965 | Univ of Washington Press | |
| Thomas | Dylan | Quite Early One Morning | New Direction Paperback | 1954 | Out of print? |
Art
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winternitz | Emmanuel | Musical instruments and their Symbolism in Western Art | By the curator of instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A collection of essays on the style and purpose of instruments in Medieval and Renaissance art. | 1967 | Yale Univ Press, reprint 1979. |
Biography
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barraque | Jean | Debussy | French and English edition published 1994. | 1962 | |
| Barzun | Jacques | Berlioz and the Romantic century | 1950 | Revised several times, including 1969, 1982 | |
| Craft | Robert | Chronicle of a Friendship | About Stravinsky in the last decades of his life, by his closest colleague and friend | 2nd edition 1994 | |
| Geiringer | Karl | Brahms, his life and work | 1947 | Revised 1974; paperback 1984 | |
| Libman | Lillian | And music at the close | About Stravinsky at the end of his life, by his secretary. | 1972 | |
| Lockspeiser | Edward | Debussy | 1963 | ||
| Moldenhauer & Irvine | Hans & Demar | Anton Webern: Perspectives | Essays | 1966 | |
| Myers | R. | Erik Satie | 1968 | ||
| Newman | Ernest | The Unconscious Beethoven | An essay in musical psychology. | 1927 | New edition in 1970 |
| Newman | Ernest | Hugo Wolf | 1907 | Newly printed reproduction in paperback 2012 | |
| Redlich | H.F. | Bruckner and Mahler | Lives and discussion of works. Appendices, calendar and list of works | 1955 | 1963 |
| Redlich | H.F. | Alban Berg: the man and his music | 1957 | ||
| Sokoloff | Alice Hunt | Cosima Wagner: Extraordinary Daughter of Franz Liszt | 1969 | ||
| White | Eric Walter | Stravinsky: The Composer and his Works | 2nd edition 1984 | ||
| Wildgans | Friedrich | Anton Webern | 1967 |
Essay
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cage | John | Silence | Gives the best idea of his work and theories. | 1961 | 50th anniversary edition |
| Cage | John | A Year From Monday | Occasionally mentions music. | 1967 |
Notation
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cage | John | Notations | Examples from many manuscripts with composers’ comments | 1969 | Expensive book priced for collectors |
| Karkoschka | Erhard | Notation in new music: A critical guide to interpretation and realisation | In German, Das Scriftbild der Neuen Musik. Examples, many contemporary scores explained | English edition 1972 | |
| Read | Gardner | Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice | Encyclopedic reference on standard practice. Includes some contemporary symbols. | Revised 1972; New edition 1999 |
Orchestration
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brindle | Reginald Smith | Contemporary Percussion | I still refer to this comprehensive book. | 1970 | Expensive book now |
| Leibowitz | R. | Thinking for Orchestra | Orchestration class textbook. | 1960 | Expensive book now |
Survey
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | W.W. | Music in the 20th Century from Debussy through Stravinsky | Extensive annotated bibligraphy | 1966 | New edition 1980 |
| Grout | Donald | A History of Western Music | The textbook for my 1970s music history class. Online comments say it has gotten really good over the many editions, with companion audio material. | 9th edition 2014 | |
| Hayes | William, editor | 20th Century Views of Music History | Essays? (not found online) | ||
| Salzman | Eric | 20th Century Music: an Introduction | Info on American music and music since 1950 | 1967 | 4th edition 2001 |
| Schwarz & Childs | Elliot & Barney | Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music | Essays | Reprinted or new edition 2009. Kindle edition | |
| Sternfeld | F.W., editor | Music in the Modern Age | Praegger (publisher) | 1973 | |
| Yates | Peter | Twentieth Century Music | 1967 |
Theory
| Author | Title | Comments | Originally Published | Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brindle | Reginald Smith | Serial Composition | The techniques for using series to make a musical composition. An Amazon commenter writes “I would read it in conjunction with Perle's "Serial Composition and Atonality" and Wuorinen's "Simple Composition" to get a fuller picture. I would add Rahn's "Basic Atonal Theory" Forte's "The Structure of Atonal Music" if you can get your hands on a copy.” | 1968 | |
| Persichetti | Vincent | 20th Century Harmony | Technical chord formation. List of works as examples. | 1961 | |
| Piston | Walter | Harmony | Traditional harmony through chromatically altered chords. 5th edition adds chapters on post-common-practice harmony.. | 1941 | 5th edition 1987 |
| Schoenberg | Arnold | Fundamentals of Composition | 1967 | Reissued 1999 | |
| Ulehla | Ludmilla | Contemporary Harmony | I noted in 1974: “Boring coverage of early 20th century harmonic techniques.” Available online at Amazon and as a PDF on Scribd, Also covered in outline form at reelscore.com. I found the outline valuable; I should revisit the book. | 1966 | Edition published in 2015 |
