{"product_id":"voice-of-a-century-isbn-9780593652671","title":"Voice of a Century","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e’s former chief classical music critic, a tribute to one of the great singers of modern times and a national treasure who broke racial barriers\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe night before Marian Anderson performed her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial, she called her manager with doubts. A crowd of 75,000 had flocked there to see her—many times more than the whites-only concert hall which rejected her weeks before—and she would be singing in front of the monument of freedom itself. This was a major triumph for racial justice, but Anderson worried it would overshadow the rest of her inimitable career. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this rich new portrait, Anthony Tommasini brings his decades of musical expertise to bear upon Anderson’s artistry, the journey of her life, and conversations about her legacy. After her breakout early performances in Europe, she gripped international audiences with her masterful renditions of Russian folk songs, German lieder, and Negro spirituals: a combination that would stretch even today's cosmopolitan repertoires. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut recognition was harder to achieve at home. Though celebrated for her concerts, Anderson could not book hotel rooms across the country. She sat uneasily on Pullman trains. These tribulations brought forth memorable shows of goodwill—Eleanor Roosevelt fought the DAR in her honor; Einstein housed her in Princeton—but were representative of the fierce racism Anderson faced. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Arturo Toscanini famously said of Anderson’s voice: one is privileged to hear it only “once in a hundred years.” Now, we get to enjoy it again, in the context of Anderson's dignified leadership, authenticity, and majestic presence.\u003cb\u003ePraise for THE INDISPENSABLE COMPOSERS:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[Tommasini] defends the value of distinguishing the great from the merely good…Tommasini does a fine job of conveying the inner life of a piece, through his rhythmic sentences and sculpted paragraphs…One cannot help coming away from it with a more rounded understanding of classical music at its peak.” \u003cb\u003e—Phillip Lopate, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Every case [Tommasini] makes is convincingly argued, and his style is accessible without being patronizing, enthusiastic but never gushily so. It’s a superb read. Indispensable, even.” —\u003cb\u003eJeremy Pound, \u003ci\u003eBBC Music Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Few critics in history have been as rigorously trained or deeply versed in music as Tony Tommasini. Page after page of this exuberant book show not only his comprehensive knowledge — he writes with the music under his fingers — but also his infectious love for the great classical repertory.” —\u003cb\u003eAlex Ross, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Rest is Noise\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for VIRGIL THOMPSON:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Tommasini. . . [e]vokes the composer's critical ear and describes his music with words that bring us right into the concert hall\" —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eAnthony Tommasini was the chief classical music critic for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e from 2000-2021. He graduated from Yale University, and later earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University. He is the author of four books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Indispensable Composers\u003c\/i\u003e, a guide to the greatest works of classical music in the canon. As a pianist, he made two recordings of Thomson's music on the Northeastern label which were supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.","brand":"Penguin Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233823797477,"sku":"NP9780593652671","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593652671.jpg?v=1773181941","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/voice-of-a-century-isbn-9780593652671","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}