What’s on your summer reading list? Reading might not be on the top of your to-do list this summer, but what better way to relax by the pool than with a riveting book? I love to read adventure books and romance novels, but as a voice professor, I feel a bit guilty reading a book that is not music-related. There are an abundance of music-related books available that are entertaining to read while also being enlightening. I thought it might be fun to put together a summer reading list. These examples are certainly not conclusive, but it is a good start, and many are available on Kindle.
- Beeching, Angela. Beyond Talent: Creating A Successful Career in Music (second edition).
“Beyond Talent is like the ultimate Swiss army knife for the young musician. Packed with savvy insights, sage advice, practical ideas and inspiring examples, this comprehensive guide delivers the tools to navigate a successful path in music.” -Phillip Ying, Violist, Ying Quartet; Associate Professor, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester; former President, Chamber Music America
- Emmons, Shirlee, and Alma Thomas. Power Performance for Singers: Transcending the Barriers.
Written as a self-help manual for singers at all levels of expertise, Power Performance for Singers is designed to teach performing artists, how to experience elite performance at their level. The skills outlined will help singers to use what they have, to enjoy their voices during performance, and to perform consistently to the best of their present ability (book description excerpted from amazon.com).
- Glover, Jane. Mozart’s Women His Family, His Friends, His Music.
In this fascinating, evocative, and compellingly readable biography, Glover, acclaimed conductor and acknowledged expert on Mozart, brings these remarkable ladies vividly to life—the real women who shared the composer’s tumultuous world and inspired some of his greatest musical achievements (book description excerpted from amazon.com).
- Green, Barry, and Timothy W. Gallwey. The Inner Game of Music.
By the best-selling co-author of Inner Tennis, here’s a book designed to help musicians overcome obstacles, to help improve concentration, and to reduce nervousness, allowing them to reach new levels of performing excellence and musical artistry (description taken from inside flap of book).
- Hines, Jerome. Great Singers on Great Singing: A Famous Opera Star Interviews Forty Famous Opera Singers on the Technique of Singing.
Jerome Hines has interviewed an array of professional singers in order to provide an invaluable treasure trove of advice. This collection includes commentary from Placido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Birgit Nilsson, Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland and many others (book description excerpted from amazon.com).
- Jamison, Kay Redfield. Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.
The anguished and volatile intensity associated with the artistic temperament was once thought to be a symptom of genius or eccentricity. Jamison’s work, based on her study as a clinical psychologist and researcher in mood disorders, reveals that many artists subject to exalted highs and despairing lows were in fact engaged in a struggle with manic-depressive illness. Jamison presents proof of the biological foundations of this disease and applies what is known about the illness to the lives and works of some of the world’s greatest artists including Berlioz, Mahler, Schumann and Wolf (book description excerpted from amazon.com).
- Kirkpatrick, Carol. Aria Ready: The Business of Singing (second edition).
No summer reading list would be complete without fellow blogger’s acclaimed manual on singing. As elaborated upon in Kirkpatrick’s bio,
“Aria Ready is a step-by-step career guide for singers and teachers of singing. It has been used by universities, music conservatories and summer programs throughout the world as a curriculum for teaching.”
- Martin, Russell. Beethoven’s Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved.
I purchased this book several years ago out of sheer fascination with the books’ premise, that somehow a lock of Beethoven’s hair had survived, and that through forensic testing, modern-day scientists could discover the probable causes of Beethoven’s deafness and chronic bad health. Russell “has created a rich historical treasure hunt, an Indiana Jones-like tale of false leads, amazing breakthroughs, and incredible revelations. This unique and fascinating book is a moving testament to the power of music, the lure of relics, the heroism of the Resistance movement, and the brilliance of molecular science” (quote excerpted from amazon.com).
- Neumayr, Anton. Music and Medicine: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert: Notes on Their Lives, Works and Medical Histories.
“Anyone with an interest in classical music will find this book fascinating, especially if you’ve heard stories about Beethoven’s deafness and Schubert’s syphilis. Dr. Neumayr read copious letters and notes about the four composers and came to his own conclusions about their medical histories. Even if you’re horrified by what you read, you’ll come away with renewed compassion for the composers.” -Yvonne Caruthers- Ristad, Eloise. A Soprano on Her Head: Right Side Up Reflections on Life and Other Performances.
Ristad deals with complex problems which torment and cripple so many creative and talented people, and she does so with compassion, wisdom, and wit. This book illuminates through its conversational style the destructive inhibitions, fears, and guilt experienced by all of us as we fail to break through to creativity. I felt at times that she was describing my own most petty and debilitating fears. This book supplies answers and methods for overcoming psychological blocks (description excerpted from the books’ forward, written by Lorin Hollander, a concert pianist).
- Tindall, Blair. Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music.
A cynical yet eye-opening account of professional musicians trying to scrape together a living in New York City in the late 20th- century, as described by the author. According to the amazon.com book description, Tindall “has lived the secret life of musicians who survive hand to mouth, trading sex and drugs for low-paying gigs and the promise of winning a rare symphony position or a lucrative solo recording contract.” A blunt illustration of trying to make it in the competitive world of classical music from an insider’s viewpoint.
There are, of course, LOTS of additional books you could add to this list, but this is a great beginning. There should be something for everyone on this eclectic list: historical intrigue, oddball and obscure information, insight into the business of performing, and holistic approaches to singing. Happy reading!
