Vincent Persichetti: A Bio-Bibliography

(Hardback)

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Description

This is the first book to focus exclusively on Vincent Persichetti, whose widespread influence as composer, conductor, and educator has had a significant impact on twentieth-century American music. A gifted pianist, Persichetti often performed the works of others as well as his own, and many of his compositions have become classics of the twentieth-century repertoire. Because of his long teaching career and guest appearances at universities throughout the United States, Persichetti became an important figure in American musical education as well, and is the author of the definitive textbook on twentieth-century harmony. The present volume contains the most extensive selection of biographical material ever published on Persichetti, and provides a listing of his compositions by chronology and opus number. It details the premiere of each work and describes other major performances, which are cross-referenced to citations in the bibliography and discography. Following the annotated bibliography of more than 507 entries on all aspects of Persichetti's style and music is an annotated bibliographical section on Persichetti's writings. There is an extensive discography of commercially produced recordings which includes, for each selection, information on performers date of issue and recording company. In addition, the appendixes provide alphabetical, chronological, and opus-number-order listing of all his works. This volume, Number 16 in The Music Reference Collection: Bio-Bibliographies in Music, is intended as an introduction to Persichetti's life and work, and it provides a source of useful research materials for scholars, educators performers, historians, and professionals in the field of music.

Reviews

Patterson, who has performed and lectured extensively on Perschetti's piano music, provides the essential details in the professional life of this important American composer. Intended for anyone whose interest extends to the music of Persichetti or to modern American music generally, his book will prove useful to scholars and researchers as well as to those concerned with the study and performance of Persichetti's music. As its title suggests, it is more a bibliography than a biography, although the book opens with a brief biography. Of greater interest and importance are the exhaustive lists of compositions, performances, writings by and about persichetti, recordings, and an extensive index. There is no comparable treatment of this composer's output. The book is well and sturdily made, clearly printed, thoroughly cross-referenced, and carefully checked. Upper-division and graduate collections.-Choice
"Patterson, who has performed and lectured extensively on Perschetti's piano music, provides the essential details in the professional life of this important American composer. Intended for anyone whose interest extends to the music of Persichetti or to modern American music generally, his book will prove useful to scholars and researchers as well as to those concerned with the study and performance of Persichetti's music. As its title suggests, it is more a bibliography than a biography, although the book opens with a brief biography. Of greater interest and importance are the exhaustive lists of compositions, performances, writings by and about persichetti, recordings, and an extensive index. There is no comparable treatment of this composer's output. The book is well and sturdily made, clearly printed, thoroughly cross-referenced, and carefully checked. Upper-division and graduate collections."-Choice

Author Bio

DONALD L. PATTERSON is Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He has presented many of the Persichetti piano works in recitals and lecture-demonstrations. JANET L. PATTERSON is the Reserve Library Supervisor at the William D. McIntyre Library of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Her book reviews appear in a number of music journals.