Copyright Date:
2004
Edition Date:
2004
Release Date:
08/01/03
Pages:
48 pages
ISBN:
1-584-15213-3
ISBN 13:
978-1-584-15213-2
Dewey:
921
LCCN:
2003000353
Dimensions:
25 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-These informative series entries provide the basic facts about their subjects, from childhood through death. Each composer's life is presented in a straightforward manner; topics such as Foster's father's alcoholism and blackface minstrel shows are handled with finesse. "FYI" pages, which examine such topics as "Pogroms" and "The Roaring Twenties" (Berlin), and "River Boats" and "Harriet Beecher Stowe" (Foster), are interspersed throughout. Clear photographs and reproductions in black and white and color enhance the texts. Readers will enjoy hearing the stories behind such familiar songs as "White Christmas," "God Bless America," and "Oh! Susanna." Numerous interesting facts and the inclusion of pertinent events from each era make for lively reading. For assignments, casual browsing, or required reading, these slim volumes neatly fill the bill.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Horn Book
(Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)
These well-researched books relate biographical details of the composers' lives, emphasizing the circumstances surrounding their musical education and compositions. The text is illustrated with photos and reproductions in a dull design, and each chapter has an "FYI" page that supplies further cultural details of varying relevance. Chronologies and lists of works are appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Masters of Music titles: The Life and Times of George Frideric Handel, The Life and Times of Irving Berlin, The Life and Times of Johann Sebastian Bach, The Life and Times of Johannes Brahms, The Life and Times of Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky, The Life and Times of Felix Medelssohn, The Life and Times of John Philip Sousa, and The Life and Times of Stephen Foster.]
Bibliography Index/Note:
Includes bibliographical references (page 46) and index.
Stephen Foster was a musical genius born at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and into the wrong family. The middle of the 19th Century was an era of development, of conquering the land and building canals and railroads. The men who were admired were the engineers and builders, the developers and inventors, not artists and composers. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio where Stephen grew up and spent his early years were rough river towns. Fortunes were made and lost transporting goods on the rivers. The Foster family was originally successful, but by the time Stephen was born on the 4th of July 1826, they were losing their land and their home. The years of Stephen's childhood were spent in cheap boarding houses or living with relatives. Little attention was given to the quiet, dreamy boy who wanted only to wander with his flute down along the levee. There he listened to the music of the African Americans who worked on the riverboats. Stephen's father considered his interest in music to be a bad habit. Stephen persisted in writing songs -- the best-loved and most famous songs in America. But he wrote his songs before the days when copyright laws protected songwriters. If he had written his music today -- "Oh! Susanna," "My Old Kentucky Home," "Camptown Races," "Old Black Joe," "Way Down Upon the Swanee River" -- he would be a millionaire many times over. When Stephen Foster died in poverty in New York in 1864, he was not completely penniless. He had 38 cents in his pocket, one penny for each year he lived. Book jacket.
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