Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Guide.

Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Guide. * Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Guide, by Daniel Felsenfeld.Amadeus Press (www.amadeuspress.com; (800) 637-2852), 2006. 118pp.$27.95. Daniel Felsenfeld's new book Tchaikovsky: A Listener'sGuide is another book in the series Unlocking the Masters published byAmadeus Press. The objective of the books in this series is preciselywhat the tide implies--to give the listener tools to be more effectiveas a listener, and in this task, Felsenfeld has succeeded in a big way.This book is intended for the novice and expert alike, and is written ina non-academic style that is immensely readable and, at least in thecase of this reader, hard to put down. The book is accompanied by two CDs with performances of the worksthat are discussed. Felsenfeld suggests that one first listen withoutthe aid of the book--the "blow-by-blow" descriptions as heputs it--to develop one's own opinion of the work being discussed.Only after some familiarity with the work does he suggest that youlisten while following the text with the blow-by-blow accounts ofwhat's happening. (One is easily able to follow these accountsbecause of the inclusion of exact timings.) Finally, he recommendslistening again without the aid of the text. At this point, he suggests,whether one likes the piece or not, an educated opinion is formed. Felsenfeld has chosen to focus only on orchestral works--"theworks by which we know him [Tchaikovsky] best" as he puts it, andincludes in his discussions the Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Julietstar-crossed lovers die as teenagers. [Br. Lit.: Romeo and Juliet]See : Death, PrematureRomeo and Julietarchetypal star-crossed lovers. [Br. Lit. Overture overture,instrumental musical composition written as an introduction to an opera, ballet, oratorio, musical, or play. The earliest Italian opera overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music and were called sinfonie. , The 4th and6th Symphonies, Concerto for Violin, 1812 Overture, Serenade serenade[Ital. sera=evening], term used to designate several types of musical composition. Opera and song literature yield numerous examples of the serenade sung or played by a lover at night beneath his beloved's window; outstanding is for Stringsin C Major, and the Nutcracker nutcracker,common name for a small crow of the genus Nucifraga in the family Corvidae (crow family). The Old World nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) is found throughout the colder regions of Europe, including high mountain forests. . A wonderful aspect of this book is thatone can read it in any order, and can focus on each work as much or aslittle as desired. I started with the two symphonies, and did as theauthor suggested: I first listened without reading anything, thenlistened while following along with the text, and finally, I listenedagain without the aid of the text. Although Felsenfeld says we shouldfeel free to disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people"hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" him, for he is seldom always right and hismetaphors are "stabs in the dark," I found that I practicallyalways agreed with him and his metaphors were extremely illuminating. For the pianists who are reading this review: do not disregard thisbook because it's not about piano music. I am a pianist, as I knowmany of the readers of AMT See vPro. are, and this book is for anyone who wishesto try to understand music better. I am constantly telling my studentsthat they must look for more color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film"color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour their playing as well as creatingsome kind of story for the works they're studying. What a wonderfultool this book will be to them in this task! As Felsenfeld reminds us inthe introduction--"listening is a nonstop HP's brand name for its fault-tolerant servers, which range in size from four CPUs to 4,000 CPUs. The NonStop line was created by Tandem Computers, which was acquired by Compaq, which later became part of HP. process and one neverlisten too deeply or too well." Felsenfeld hopes that reading this book will give us tools tobetter understand all music. Well, I, indeed, have found myselflistening to music with a renewed vigor, and this book has inspired meto get back to work with more energy in my teaching, practicing andlistening. Thank you, Mr. Felsenfeld!--Reviewed by Jim Litzelman, TheCatholic University of America Catholic University of America,at Washington, D.C.; the national university of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States; coeducational; founded 1887 and opened 1889. * The items marked with this symbol can be ordered via the MTNA MTNA Music Teachers National AssociationMTNA Middle Tennessee Nursery Association (McMinnville, Tennessee)website through our affiliation with Amazon.com. Go to www.mtna.org andchoose Member Services from the Membership option in the main menu barfor more information.