Pierre Monteux, Maitre
(2003 - John Canarina) ISBN: 1574670824 (Amazon)

This looked like an academic book that might be difficult to read, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Monteux had a very interesting life, starting with his Stravinsky experiences in the early 1900's. This book was very engaging and I had a hard time putting it down.

Beverly: An Autobiobraphy
(1987 - Beverly Sills & Lawrence Linderman) ISBN: 0553051733 (Amazon)

I read about H. Vose Greenough in a booklet with a BSO broadcast CD set, and wanted to learn more about Vose. I found that he was the older brother of Beverly Sills' husband Peter, so I decided to read her autobiography to see what else I could learn. What a great book! Fun to read, great stories, interesting insights to the opera world. Several good clues about Vose, too! After checking this out at the library, I was thrilled to find an autographed copy on Amazon.com - so that's what's on my shelf now.

All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters
(2003 - Craig Whitney) ISBN: 1586481738 (Amazon)

Mom recommended this book after hearing about it on NPR. Interesting stories about organ builders such as Ernest Skinner, G. Donald Harrison, and Charles Fisk; plus bios on E. Power Biggs and Virgil Fox.

Rudolph Ganz - A Musical Pioneer
(1995 - Jean Colette Collester) ISBN: 0810828839 (Amazon)

Biography & loving tribute by Ganz' 2nd wife's daughter. Good detail on his time leading the St. Louis Symphony in the 1920's and the Chicago Musical College. I wish there had been a better discography. Ganz does mention recording Welte rolls, which was interesting. Lots of good detailed references to Studs Terkel interviews, newspaper reviews, radio broadcasts & concerts, etc. BTW, I found a VERY cool old letter & photo of Ganz with Paderewski & Mme. Sembrich at http://www.fonoteca.ch The letter translates as follows: Clarens, July 7 (without year) Dear friend, Here is the quartet of my friend Wellesz. Student of Mahler and of Schönberg. The quartet will be played Paris two or 3 times. The Löwensohn played Berlin it and the will repeat the next winter, as well as in of other cities. Thousand friendships to you all and good-bye to soon. Your devoted one, Rudolphe Ganz

I Really Should Be Practicing
(1987 - Gary Graffman) ISBN: 0380598736 (Amazon)

I kept seeing references to this in other books, so I decided to see for myself. Extremely fun book to read, many funny stories and insights to famous concert pianists & the professional scene during the 1950's and on. I wish he would write another book to cover the last 20 years. Graffman is the President and Director of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power
(2001 - Norman Lebrecht) ISBN: 0806520884 (Amazon)

Nancy suggested I read this, and I really enjoyed it. Interesting history, pictures, and biographical info on the greatest conductors in history & how this function evolved. A bit gossipy, but still very much worth the time. Starting with Hans von Bulow and the Berlin Philharmonic, each chapter takes the reader through one milestone after another - ch. 2: Arthur Nikisch & Hans Richter / ch. 3: Mahler, Mengelberg, Zemlinsky, R. Strauss, Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer (& Walter Legge) / ch. 4: dictators - Toscanini, Furtwangler, Mravinsky, Rostropivich, Kondrashin, Rozhdestvensky, Kurt Mazur / ch. 5: Karajan / ch. 6: Boston - Koussevitsky, Munch, Leinsdorf, Steinberg, Ozawa - & Phila. - Stokowski, Previn / ch. 7: UK - Beecham, Henry Wood, Adrian Boult, Malcolm Sargent, John Barbirolli, Solti, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink / ch. 8: composers - Bernstein & Pierre Boulez / ch. 9: Vienna - Bernstein, Maazel, James Levine / ch. 10: Italians - Abbado, Sabata, Serafin, Gui, Giuliani, Muti, Sinopoli / ch. 11: mavericks: Hortenstein, Celibidache, Kleiber(s), Tennstedt / ch. 12: insiders - Barenboim, Mehta, Ashkenazy, Zuckerman, Chung / ch. 13: outsiders - Mitropoulos, Tate, Caldwell, Henry Lewis, Dean Dixon / ch. 14: early music - Marriner, Hogwood, Pinnock, Norrington ("Latest research has proved that this guy is a complete jackass"), Gardiner / ch. 15: next gen.: Salonen, Chung, Chailly, Rattle, Welser-Most / ch. 16: management - Arthur Judson, Ronald Wilford, CAMI (Columbia Artists Mgt. Inc.).

Memoirs: Sir Georg Solti
(1998 - Georg Solti) ISBN: 1556523378 (Amazon)

I picked up a copy of this at a library book sale a while back, and had to read it after reading the Fritz Reiner bio. Solti has a very interesting story, and tells it in a very engaging way.

Fritz Reiner: A Biography
(1994 - Philip Hart) ISBN: 1556523378 (Amazon)

Checked out from Cook Library in Libertyville. Not the easiest read or nicest story, but this was a very well researched book and quite interesting. I need to see the Reiner shrine at the Northwestern music library! I wonder how difficult it will be to access?

E. Power Biggs, Concert Organist
(1994 - Barbara Owen) ISBN: 0253318017 (Amazon)

Checked out from Cook Library in Libertyville. I really enjoyed this book, but I've always been predisposed to Biggs. The chapters on Biggs in "All The Stops" (above) help round out this bio. Very good discography in the back. Biggs' first 78s were recorded for H. Vose Greenough's Technichord label in 1938!

Luisa Tetrazzini - the Florentine Nightingale
(1995 - Charles Neilson Gattey) ISBN: 093134087X (Amazon)

Tetrazzini was quite a character, and her Victor 78s are fun to collect. Besides telling her story, this book has a very good discography.

The Fabulous Phonograph 1877 - 1977
(1954-77 - Roland Gelatt) ISBN: 0020326807 (Amazon)

This is a great book, and a must for understanding the history of the phonograph industry - especially in context of the classical music being recorded: when the first complete concertos and symphonies were recorded and by whom, and so forth all the way down to the present (as of 1977!). Gelatt tells the story of the introduction of the LP and of stereo. I was fortunate to find an autographed copy!

The Music Goes Round
(1942 - Fred W. Gaisberg) ASIN: B0007DP80C (out of print)

After reading Sound Revoltions (below), I wanted to read Gaisberg's own account of his life. I was able to locate a used copy of this book, which was published in the US during WWII then in London afterward when paper was more readily available for publishing (!) under a similar title. It's great to get this material directly from Gaisberg, but one can see that Moore did a fantastic job of fleshing out this tale with many additional insights which make the story much more fascinating.

Sound Revolutions - a biography of Fred Gaisberg, founding father of commercial sound recording
(1999 - Jerrold Northrop Moore) ISBN: 1860742351 (Amazon)

Another great book, and a must for understanding the early history of the phonograph industry. Gaisberg's story is fascinating, starting with his childhood work with John Phillip Sousa in Washington DC; Emile Berliner in the US and setting up a recording studio in London; and travelling around Europe recording such people as Paderewski, Melba, Patti, Caruso, Chaliapin, Bruno Walter, and Edward Elgar. Gaisberg was certainly at the right place(s) at the right time, he had the enviable role of capturing many great artists at the earliest stages of their recording careers. Moore's writing is fantastic, and he puts this material in a context that Gaisberg himself couldn't do - see the next book above.