In Women of Influence in Contemporary Music: Nine American Composers; Michael K. Slayton has collected essays; which focus on women who have made significant contributions to American music: Elizabeth Austin; Susan Botti; Gabriela Lena Frank; Jennifer Higdon; Libby Larsen; Tania Leoacute;n; Cindy McTee; Marga Richter; and Judith Shatin. While these composers have much in common; not least of all dedication to their art; their individual stories reveal different impulses in American music. Their works reflect the shifting societal landscapes in the United States over the last seven decades; as well as different stylistic approaches to writing music. Each chapter includes a biography of the composer; an interview; and a detailed analysis of one major composition. The composers openly reflect on their individual journeys; in which they have discovered respective musical languages and have found success during different times in history. Because few music books focus solely on female composers; Women of Influence in Contemporary Music offers a rare glimpse into the styles and attitudes of gifted women and their work.
#106963 in eBooks 2009-11-01 2009-11-01File Name: B004FN1K66
Review
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. take that lee edelman and other cultural theory pessimist kings and queensBy wothis book makes a necessary and thoughtful contribution not just to queer studies. its most explicit disciplinary frame of reference. but also to interdisciplinary cultural studies more generally. munozs two key moves are in ascending order of importance (1) the key privileging of underexamined theoretical texts rather than the canonic. equally applicable. but overcited work of foucault and benjamin. who munoz notes in his introduction have been rendered almost too tailored to queer theorys concerns. and (2) to instill a sense of "hope" and "utopian futurity" or more simply "potential" in a discourse thats still being dominated by lee edelmans anti-relational pessimism. sure. kids and heteronormative reproduction are a kind of violence. munoz admits. but not one that elides or obfuscates the ability of queer theory and queer lives to create something fleshy. significant. and other than the pessimistic or scolding. a tour de force.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Jesse BieThe material is very dense but extremely interesting reading.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Kris GebhardPhenomenal.
