Background
Slonimsky, Nicolas was born on April 27, 1894 in St. Petersburg, Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. Came to United States, 1923, naturalized, 1931. Son of Leonid and Faina (Vengerova) Slonimsky.
( "A supermarket tabloid of classical music criticism."―F...)
"A supermarket tabloid of classical music criticism."―From the new foreword by Peter Schickele. A snakeful of critical venom aimed at the composers and the classics of nineteenth- and twentieth-century music. Who wrote advanced cat music? What commonplace theme is very much like Yankee Doodle? Which composer is a scoundrel and a giftless bastard? What opera would His Satanic Majesty turn out? Whose name suggests fierce whiskers stained with vodka? And finally, what third movement begins with a dog howling at midnight, then imitates the regurgitations of the less-refined or lower-middle-class type of water-closet cistern, and ends with the cello reproducing the screech of an ungreased wheelbarrow? For the answers to these and other questions, readers need only consult the "Invecticon" at the back of this inspired book and then turn to the full passage, in all its vituperation. Among the eminent reviewers are George Bernard Shaw, Virgil Thomson, Hans von Bülow, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eduard Hanslick, Olin Downes, Deems Taylor, Paul Rosenfeld, and Oscar Wilde. Itself a classic, this collection of nasty barbs about composers and their works, culled mostly from contemporaneous newspapers and magazines, makes for hilarious reading and belongs on the shelf of everyone who loves―or hates ―classical music. With a new foreword by Peter Schickele ("P.D.Q. Bach").
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039332009X/?tag=2022091-20
(A man of untiring energy and humor, Nicolas Slonimsky has...)
A man of untiring energy and humor, Nicolas Slonimsky has led a long and accomplished musical life, and today in his nineties he is a vital presence in American music. In 1985, an extensive New Yorker profile described him as "a man of countless daffy stunts and almost as many authentic achievements." Indeed, Slonimsky pursued four distinct careers, each with its own degree of success: as a pianist, as a composer, as an pioneering conductor who championed modern American composers, among them Ives, Varèse and Cowell, who long afterwards came to be acknowledged as giants of the new century. It was in his fourth career, as a musical lexicographer, that he achieved world-wide recognition, particularly as editor of the highly respected Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, a reference work renowned for its highly imaginative, lively, and gem-like entries. He is also a master raconteur. In Perfect Pitch, his fast-paced and often hilarious autobiography, he recounts in fascinating detail a life that spans the whole of 20th-century music, ranging from his childhood in St. Petersburg, where he studied piano with his illustrious aunt, Isabelle Vengerova, to his years as secretary and "piano pounder" to Serge Koussevitzky, to his present career as musical lexicographer. He describes the extraordinary accomplishments of members of his family; Russia before, during, and after the Revolution; his successful appearances as conductor in Paris, Berlin, and New York, and his fall from grace at the Hollywood Bowl; the whimsical pleasures of lexicographical detective work; unexpected fame and fortune as a game show contestant; and much, much more. Along the way, the reader meets famous personalities as seen through Slonimsky's eye, names such as Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein, John Cage, and Frank Zappa. Also included is the correspondence from Henry Cowell in prison, providing a stirring commentary on the persecution of this remarkable American musician. Crowded with illuminating anecdotes, Perfect Pitch captures a life packed with odd and arcane developments, related in a style full of wit, spice, and irreverence.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0193151553/?tag=2022091-20
(From the history of Mary Had A Little Lamb to the structu...)
From the history of Mary Had A Little Lamb to the structure and tone of the concerto grosso, Slonimsky explains musical forms, instruments, works and terms from A to Z. He describes the banjo and the belly dance, Menotti opera and Gershwin tunes, histrionic conductors and the inception of the phonograph, all with vast knowledge and likable wit. Slonimsky's writing is both informed and accessible, making his wisdom a professional gem, a novice's bible and good fun for anyone who likes to read.
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Slonimsky, Nicolas was born on April 27, 1894 in St. Petersburg, Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. Came to United States, 1923, naturalized, 1931. Son of Leonid and Faina (Vengerova) Slonimsky.
Student, Conservatory of Music, St. Petersburg. Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary), Northwestern University, 1980.
Conductor Pierian Sodality, Harvard, 1928-1930. Instructor Eastman School Music, Rochester, New York, 1923-1925, Boston Conservatory Music, 1925-1945. Instructor Slavic languages and literature Harvard University, 1946-1947.
Visiting professor Colorado College, summer 1940, 47-49. Lecturer music Simmons College, 1947-1949, Peabody Conservatory, 1956-1957, University California at Los Angeles, 1964-1967. Guest conductor, Paris, Berlin, Budapest, Havana, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hollywood, 1931-1933, S.A., 1941-1942.
(From the history of Mary Had A Little Lamb to the structu...)
(A man of untiring energy and humor, Nicolas Slonimsky has...)
( "A supermarket tabloid of classical music criticism."―F...)
(F First Edition, 1st)
(New Ed)
Concert tours as pianist, Europe, 1921-1922, United States, since 1923, South America, 1941-1942. Wrote for ballet, orchestra, piano, voice. Author: Music since 1900, 5th edition, 1994, Music of Latin America, 4th edition, 1972, Lexicon of Musical Invective, 1953, Perfect Pitch: A Life Story, 1988, Lectionary of Music, 1989.Editor: International Cyclo. Of Music and Musicians, 4th-8th editions, 1946-1958, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 5th edition, 1958, 6th edition, 1978, 7th edition, 1984, 8th edition, 1991, Concise Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1988, 93. Member American music editorial board: Encyclopedia British, since 1958.Contributor: annual music surveys to Encyclopedia British Year Books, 1950-1968.
Member (honorary) American Academy Institute Arts and Letters.
Chess, mathematics, languages, travel.
Married Dorothy Adlow, July 30, 1931. 1 daughter, Electra.