The Joy of Music
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Author | Leonard Bernstein |
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Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1959 |
The Joy of Music[1] is Leonard Bernstein's first book, originally published as a hardcover in 1959 by Simon & Schuster.[2] The first UK edition was published in 1960 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. It was translated into German (1961), Danish (1969), Slovenian (1977), Hebrew (1973 and 1977), Chinese (1987).[3] The first edition was reprinted seven times and published in several further editions, including as a paperback and ebook.
In the books' introduction, "The Happy Medium", Bernstein discusses the nature of music and the difficulties of writing about it.
The first part of the book, "Imaginary Conversations", is about Beethoven, meaning in music, and the difficulty to write popular tunes for serious composers.
A brief section, "Interlude: Upper Dubbing, Calif.", describes the peculiarities of composing film music. It was published on May 30, 1954, in The New York Times.[4]
The second part consists of seven scripts from the TV series Omnibus, three of which had been published between 1956 and 1958 in Vogue. They contain sheet music examples to illustrate the lecture; the sound examples from the lectures and actions on stage are described in the form of stage directions.
- "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony", broadcast November 14, 1954
- "The World of Jazz", broadcast October 16, 1955
- "The Art of Conducting", broadcast December 4, 1955
- "American Musical Comedy", broadcast October 7, 1956
- "Introduction to Modern Music", broadcast January 13, 1957
- "The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach", broadcast March 31, 1957
- "What Makes Opera Grand?", broadcast March 23, 1958
All seven of Bernstein's Omnibus lectures, introduced by Alistair Cooke, were released as a box set of four DVDs in 2016, so readers of The Joy of Music can hear the musical examples.[5]
References
- ^ Not related to the 1974 double LP on Columbia Masterworks, M2X 795, of the same title
- ^ The Joy of Music. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 371984.
- ^ Editions of The Joy of Music, WorldCat
- ^ Bernstein, Leonard (May 30, 1954). "Notes Struck at 'Upper Dubbing', California; Tyro Film Composer Leonard Bernstein Lauds Sound Technicians' Marvels". The New York Times. p. X5. (facsimile)(subscription required)
- ^ "Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein". Amazon.com. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
External links
- The Joy of Music. Simon & Schuster. 1959 – via Internet Archive.
- Script and video excerpts from sections 1, 4, 7, leonardbernstein.com
- 1. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on YouTube
- 2. The World of Jazz on Vimeo
- 3. The Art of Conducting on YouTube
- 4. American Musical Comedy on Vimeo
- 5. Introduction to Modern Music on Vimeo
- 6. The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach on YouTube
- 7. What Makes Opera Grand? on Vimeo
- v
- t
- e
- Trouble in Tahiti (1951)
- Candide (1956)
- A Quiet Place (1983)
- On the Town (1944)
- "New York, New York"
- "Lonely Town"
- Peter Pan (1950)
- Wonderful Town (1953)
- "Ohio"
- West Side Story (1957)
- "A Boy Like That"
- "America"
- "Cool"
- "Gee, Officer Krupke"
- "I Feel Pretty"
- "Maria"
- "One Hand, One Heart"
- "Something's Coming"
- "Somewhere"
- Tonight"
- "Tonight Quintet"
- A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green (1958, collaboration)
- The Race to Urga (1968)
- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976)
- The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979, contribution)
- Fancy Free (1944)
- Dybbuk (1974)
- Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah) (1942)
- Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) (1948–49, revised 1965)
- Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) (1963)
- Fanfare for the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy (1961)
- CBS Music (1976)
- Slava! A Political Overture (1977)
- Divertimento (1980)
- Concerto for Orchestra (1986, 1988, 1989, originally Jubilee Games)
- Prelude, Fugue and Riffs (1948)
- Serenade after Plato's "Symposium" (1954)
- Ḥalil (1981)
- Piano Trio (1937)
- Clarinet Sonata (1942)
- Dance Suite (1989)
- Hashkiveinu (1945)
- Chichester Psalms (1965)
- "Olympic Hymn" (1981)
- Missa Brevis (1988)
- Psalm 148 (art song, 1935)
- I Hate Music (song cycle, 1943)
- La Bonne Cuisine (song cycle, 1947)
- "So Pretty" (1968)
- Songfest: A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra (1977)
- "My Twelve Tone Melody" (1988)
- Non troppo presto (Music for the Dance No. 1) (1937)
- Music for the Dance No. 2 (1938)
- Sonata for the Piano (1938)
- Anniversaries (1942—1988)
- Seven Ann. (1942–43)
- Four Ann. (1948)
- Five Ann. (1949–51)
- Thirteen Ann. (1988)
- Four Sabras (ca. 1950)
- Bridal Suite (1960)
- Touches (1980)
- The Lark (incidental music) (1955)
- Mass (1971)
- Opening Prayer (1986)
- On the Town (1949 film)
- West Side Story (1961 film)
- West Side Story (2021 film)
- The Joy of Music
- Academy for the Love of Learning
- Artful Learning
- Bernstein–Mahler cycle
- Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
- Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts
- New York Philharmonic concert of April 6, 1962
- Pacific Music Festival
- The Unanswered Question (lecture series)
- Young People's Concerts
- Maestro (2023 film)
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