The Instrumentalist

The magazine for school band and orchestra directors.

(Meredith Music Resource). This book is a unique resource for both novice and experienced band directors, gathering effective teaching tools from the best in the field. Includes more than 40 chapters on: curriculum, "then and now" of North American wind bands, the anatomy of music making, motivation, program organization and administrative leadership, and much more. "A wonderful resource for all music educators! Dr. Jagow's book is comprehensive and impressive in scope. An excellent book! Bravo!" Frank L. Battisti, Conductor Emeritus, New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble (a href="http://youtu.be/nB4TwZhgn7c" target="_blank")Click here for a YouTube video on Teaching Instrumental Music(/a)

A stunning debut novel of music, intoxication, and betrayal inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà, a Venetian orphan and violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi and ultimately became his star musician—and his biggest muse. Anna Maria della Pietà was destined to drown in one of Venice’s canals. Instead, she became the greatest violinist of the 18th century. Anna Maria has only known life inside the Pietà, an orphanage for children born of prostitutes. But the girls of the Pietà are lucky in a sense: most babies born of their station were drowned in the city’s canals. And despite the strict rules, the girls are given singing and music lessons from an early age. The most promising musicians have the chance to escape the fate of the rest: forced marriage to anyone who will have them. Anna Maria is determined to be the best violinist there is—and whatever Anna Maria sets out to do, she achieves. After all, the stakes for Anna could not be higher. But it is 1704 and she is a girl. The pursuit of her ambition will test everything she holds dear, especially when it becomes clear that her instructor, Antonio Vivaldi, will teach Anna everything he knows—but not without taking something in return. From the opulent palaces of Venice to its mud-licked canals, The Instrumentalist is a portrait of opportunities dangled only to be snatched away. It is the story of one woman’s irrepressible ambition and rise to the top. And it is the story of the orphans of Venice who overcame destitution and abuse to make music, and whose contributions to some of the most important works of classical music, including “The Four Seasons,” have been overlooked for too long. For fans of The Queen’s Gambit and Fingersmith, The Instrumentalist is a searing exploration of art and ambition, genius and exploitation, and loss and triumph.

A world-renowned conductor and composer who has lead most of the major orchestras in North America and Europe, a talented musician who has played under the batons of such luminaries as Toscanini and Walter, and an esteemed arranger, scholar, author, and educator, Gunther Schuller is without doubt a major figure in the music world. Now, in The Compleat Conductor, Schuller has penned a highly provocative critique of modern conducting, one that is certain to stir controversy. Indeed, in these pages he castigates many of this century's most venerated conductors for using the podium to indulge their own interpretive idiosyncrasies rather than devote themselves to reproducing the composer's stated and often painstakingly detailed intentions. Contrary to the average concert-goer's notion (all too often shared by the musicians as well) that conducting is an easily learned skill, Schuller argues here that conducting is "the most demanding, musically all embracing, and complex" task in the field of music performance. Conducting demands profound musical sense, agonizing hours of study, and unbending integrity. Most important, a conductor's overriding concern must be to present a composer's work faithfully and accurately, scrupulously following the score including especially dynamics and tempo markings with utmost respect and care. Alas, Schuller finds, rare is the conductor who faithfully adheres to a composer's wishes. To document this, Schuller painstakingly compares hundreds of performances and recordings with the original scores of eight major compositions: Beethoven's fifth and seventh symphonies, Schumann's second (last movement only), Brahms's first and fourth, Tchaikovsky's sixth, Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel" and Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe, Second Suite." Illustrating his points with numerous musical examples, Schuller reveals exactly where conductors have done well and where they have mangled the composer's work. As he does so, he also illuminates the interpretive styles of many of our most celebrated conductors, offering pithy observations that range from blistering criticism of Leonard Bernstein ("one of the world's most histrionic and exhibitionist conductors") to effusive praise of Carlos Kleiber (who "is so unique, so remarkable, so outstanding that one can only describe him as a phenomenon"). Along the way, he debunks many of the music world's most enduring myths (such as the notion that most of Beethoven's metronome markings were "wrong" or "unplayable," or that Schumann was a poor orchestrator) and takes on the "cultish clan" of period instrument performers, observing that many of their claims are "totally spurious and chimeric." In his epilogue, Schuller sets forth clear guidelines for conductors that he believes will help steer them away from self indulgence towards the correct realization of great art. Courageous, eloquent, and brilliantly insightful, The Compleat Conductor throws down the gauntlet to conductors worldwide. It is a controversial book that the music world will be debating for many years to come.

For fans of The Queen’s Gambit and The Handmaid’s Tale, award-winning journalist Harriet Constable’s unforgettable novel tells the story of classical music as it has never been told before. Inspired by true events, The Instrumentalist tells the story of Anna Maria della Pietà—orphan, musical prodigy and favourite student of Antonio Vivaldi. Anna Maria is on a mission: to become Venice’s greatest violinist and composer. In her remarkable world of colour and sound, it seems as if nothing can stop her. But it is 1704 and she is, after all, a girl. The pursuit of her ambition will test everything Anna Maria holds dear. With echoes of internationally renowned historical fiction such as Tuscan Daughter by Lisa Rochon, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell and Perfume by Patrick Süskind, The Instrumentalist brings to life the remarkable story of one of classical music’s most important yet overlooked figures. It is guaranteed to transport even the most unmusical of readers into a whole other realm.

(Instructional). Exercises and Etudes for the Jazz Instrumentalist is a collection of original pieces by the master trombonist/composer J.J. Johnson. Designed as study material and playable by any instrument, these pieces run the gamut of the jazz experience, featuring common and uncommon time signatures and keys, and styles from ballads to funk. They are progressively graded so that both beginners and professionals will be challenged by the demands of this wonderful music.

A practical, concise, and comprehensive guide for flutists.