Believe Your Ears is the memoir of composer Kirke Mechem; whose unorthodox path to music provides a fascinating narrative. He wrote songs and played music by ear as a newspaper reporter; a touring tennis player; and a Stanford creative-writing major before studying composition and conducting at Harvard. He describes his residencies in San Francisco; Vienna; London; and Russia; and gives detailed attention to his choral music; operas; and symphonies. He writes that ldquo;the twentieth century gave us much brilliant musicrdquo; but shows how atonality came to dominate the post-war period. His lyric style belongs to no particular ldquo;school;rdquo; avoiding the trends; ndash;isms; experiments; fads; and lunacies of the period. He encourages younger composers who are trying to bring back beauty; passion; and humormdash;even entertainmentmdash;to classical music. He asks music lovers to believe their own ears; not the lectures of ldquo;experts.rdquo;Believe Your Ears is addressed to all who love classical music. Along the way; readers will meet Dimitri Shostakovich; Wallace Stegner; Billie Jean King; the Grateful Dead; Richard Rodgers; Benjamin Britten; Bill Tilden; and Aaron Coplandmdash;a whorsquo;s who in Mechemrsquo;s storied career.
#1462781 in eBooks 2013-04-23 2013-04-23File Name: B009Y4JQTE
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Adorable Patterns for All Kids--not just girly girls!By DebbieThis is an excellent book. So many books like this are just for little girls but there are so many patterns that can be used for just about any child. All of them are adorable and the instructions are great. I made a vest for my sons Ancestor Doll using one of the patterns in this book. It was my first article of clothing ever and it turned out totally cute. I had to adjust the pattern for size since the doll I was knitting for was smaller. and it was quite easy just by using sock yarn and smaller needles. I have seen a few comments about the patterns being suitable for 18" but I believe the majority of them would work on Build a Bears as well which is what my kids cant seem to get enough of.I did find it helpful to check out the pattern notes on Ravelry for the patterns I was interested in making. The comments over there are generally very instructive. The photography of the patterns is quite good--you dont just get one weird artistic shot that leaves you wondering exactly what it looks like. I did order it as a Kindle book and the formatting was quite good. Overall. a really great book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The finished product was really great. It fit the doll very wellBy Kindle CustomerThe one pattern I have made was clear and accurate. The finished product was really great. It fit the doll very well.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Kathy MuldoonA+
