"The Harlequin Years presents a highly readable yet thorough examination of the Parisian music scene in the decade following World War I. Through Nichols's lively prose and in his accounts of institutional politics, reception histories, and behind-the-scenes debates, these places and personalities spring to life."—Susan McClary, author of Conventional Wisdom

Paris, the City of Light, is one of the most romantic cities in the world. The millions of visitors which flock to the French capital every year follow in the footsteps of countless artists, writers and composers who for centuries have been drawn to this magnificent city. Some composers, Chopin and Rossini among them, found success and contentment, and remained in Paris for the rest of their lives. But for others, Paris brought nothing but disappointment and disillusionment. Mozart, who came to Paris as a 22-year-old seeking a permanent position, was so bitter about the cavalier manner in which he was treated that he professed an aversion to all things French until the end of his days. Wagner was so upset by his treatment here that he once described Paris as "a pit into which the spirit of the nation has subsided." And yet he was drawn back to the city time and again. This book charts the musical history of Paris. It discusses the composer and musicians, both French and foreign, who were drawn here and the impact they made on the world of music, on this great city, and vice versa. It includes a wealth of biographical details, including where the artists lived and, where relevant, where they died and are buried. It also draws from and points to suitable scholarly literature, making it an accessible introduction to students of the musical history of Paris. The book also describes another feature which, if it did not enrich, most certainly enlivened Parisian musical life: The full-scale musical riot. The most notorious of these took place at the Theatre des Champs Elysées in 1913 at the premiere of Stravinsky’s ballet Le sacre du printemps. Less physical, but no less vociferous, was the reception accorded to Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Opéra in 1860. Other composers who incurred the displeasure of Parisian audiences included Satie, Varese and Xenakis. These riots were not half-hearted affairs; police involvement was required and hospital casualty departments were kept busy. There are also chapters which discuss the musical history of the many theatres of Paris and the churches which played such an important part in the city’s musical past. The text is clear and accessible in order to appeal to both students and the general reader.

Challenges the longstanding perception that modernist composers made art, not money, and that those who made money somehow failed to make art.Patrons have long appeared as colorful, exceptional figures in music history, but this book recasts patrons and patronage as creative forces that shaped the sounds and meanings of new French music between the world wars. Far from mere sources of funding, early twentieth-century patrons collaborated closely with composers, treating commissions for new music as opportunities to express their own artistry. Patrons developed new pathways to participate in music-making, going beyond commissions to establish ballet companies, manage performance venues, and establish state programs. The impressive variety of patronage activities led to an explosion of new music as well as new styles and -isms, indelibly marking the repertoire that this book examines, including a number of pieces frequently heard in concert halls today. In addition to offering new perspectives on well-known French repertoire, this book challenges conceptions of patronage as a bygone phenomenon. Complementing a dwindling cast of aristocratic patrons were new ranks of music publishers, impresarios, state bureaucrats, opera directors, and others capitalizing on their savings, social connections, and artistic vision to bring new music into the world. In chapters on French discourse around patronage, aristocratic commissions, the stimulus provided by the interwar dance craze, music publishing, the Paris Opéra, state intervention in French musical life, and transatlantic musical exchanges, the book blends cultural history with primary source study and music analysis. It not only improves our understanding of French musical life and culture during the early twentieth century but also supplies us with essential insights into the ways modern music emerged at the intersection of music composition, aesthetic and national politics, and the creative labor of patrons.nch repertoire, this book challenges conceptions of patronage as a bygone phenomenon. Complementing a dwindling cast of aristocratic patrons were new ranks of music publishers, impresarios, state bureaucrats, opera directors, and others capitalizing on their savings, social connections, and artistic vision to bring new music into the world. In chapters on French discourse around patronage, aristocratic commissions, the stimulus provided by the interwar dance craze, music publishing, the Paris Opéra, state intervention in French musical life, and transatlantic musical exchanges, the book blends cultural history with primary source study and music analysis. It not only improves our understanding of French musical life and culture during the early twentieth century but also supplies us with essential insights into the ways modern music emerged at the intersection of music composition, aesthetic and national politics, and the creative labor of patrons.nch repertoire, this book challenges conceptions of patronage as a bygone phenomenon. Complementing a dwindling cast of aristocratic patrons were new ranks of music publishers, impresarios, state bureaucrats, opera directors, and others capitalizing on their savings, social connections, and artistic vision to bring new music into the world. In chapters on French discourse around patronage, aristocratic commissions, the stimulus provided by the interwar dance craze, music publishing, the Paris Opéra, state intervention in French musical life, and transatlantic musical exchanges, the book blends cultural history with primary source study and music analysis. It not only improves our understanding of French musical life and culture during the early twentieth century but also supplies us with essential insights into the ways modern music emerged at the intersection of music composition, aesthetic and national politics, and the creative labor of patrons.nch repertoire, this book challenges conceptions of patronage as a bygone phenomenon. Complementing a dwindling cast of aristocratic patrons were new ranks of music publishers, impresarios, state bureaucrats, opera directors, and others capitalizing on their savings, social connections, and artistic vision to bring new music into the world. In chapters on French discourse around patronage, aristocratic commissions, the stimulus provided by the interwar dance craze, music publishing, the Paris Opéra, state intervention in French musical life, and transatlantic musical exchanges, the book blends cultural history with primary source study and music analysis. It not only improves our understanding of French musical life and culture during the early twentieth century but also supplies us with essential insights into the ways modern music emerged at the intersection of music composition, aesthetic and national politics, and the creative labor of patrons. as a bygone phenomenon. Complementing a dwindling cast of aristocratic patrons were new ranks of music publishers, impresarios, state bureaucrats, opera directors, and others capitalizing on their savings, social connections, and artistic vision to bring new music into the world. In chapters on French discourse around patronage, aristocratic commissions, the stimulus provided by the interwar dance craze, music publishing, the Paris Opéra, state intervention in French musical life, and transatlantic musical exchanges, the book blends cultural history with primary source study and music analysis. It not only improves our understanding of French musical life and culture during the early twentieth century but also supplies us with essential insights into the ways modern music emerged at the intersection of music composition, aesthetic and national politics, and the creative labor of patrons.

A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music.

An in-depth analysis of the music and life of a gypsy music legend

Exploring the ideas of consensus, resistance and rupture, this book contributes an important and nuanced reflection to the current debate on modernism in music.

"French Music and Trauma Between the World Wars illustrates that coping with trauma was a central concern for French musicians active after World War I. The losses and violent warfare of World War I shaped how interwar French musicians-from those fighting in the trenches and working in military hospitals to more well-known musicians-engaged with music. Situated at the intersections of musicology, history, sound and performance studies, and psychology and trauma studies, Resonant Recoveries argues that modernists' compositions and musical activities were sonorous locations for managing and performing trauma. Through analysis of archival materials, French medical, philosophical, and literary texts, and the music produced between the wars, this book illuminates how music emerged during World War I as an embodied technology of consolation. Resonant Recoveries demonstrates that music making came to be understood by French interwar musicians as a consolatory practice that enhanced their abilities to remember lost loved ones, gave them opportunities to perform their grief publicly and privately, allowed them to create healing bonds of friendship, and soothed them with sonic vibrations and the rhythmically regular bodily movements required in order to perform many French neoclassical compositions. In revealing the importance music making held for interwar French musicians, this book refigures French modernist music as a therapeutic medium for creators, performers, and audiences, while also underlining the importance of addressing trauma, mourning, and people's emotional lives in music scholarship"--