Conversations with Joseph Flummerfelt: Thoughts on Conducting, Music, and Musicians

by Donald Nally, Kurt Masur (Foreword by)

Overview

In Conversations with Joseph Flummerfelt: Thoughts on Conducting, Music, and Musicians, Donald Nally presents a window into the mind and heart of one of America's most celebrated and distinguished choral conductors. Through questions from Nally, his former student, Flummerfelt provides a captivating narrative tracing his formative years and influences, his most important artistic collaborations, and his approach to conducting and music. The conversation further develops into a philosophical discussion on cultural influences and obstacles in art, how one teaches conducting, and the foundations of ensemble music-making.

Through these intimate conversations, Flummerfelt reveals his life, art, and ideas, from his close collaborations with some of the world's greatest orchestral conductors to his work as Artistic Director of Westminster Choir College. The topics range from his approaches to style, conducting gesture, sound generation, and choral sound to the psychology of music-making and the contemporary environment of art-making. Nally's interview style captures the energy and rhythm of Flummerfelt's speech so that the conductor's "voice" and passion is easily perceived, and the material is presented as a highly organized yet spontaneous and free conversation.

Flummerfelt discusses his early career influences from such musicians as Robert Shaw and Nadia Boulanger and reveals his thoughts on composers like Igor Stravinsky, Samuel Barber, Benjamin Britten, and Olivier Messiaen. The more than 30 photos present a visual record of Flummerfelt's collaborations with many of the great musicians of our time, and a biographical timeline, a list of collaborating orchestras and conductors, and a discography are also included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810869769
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/20/2010
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Donald Nally is chorus master at Lyric Opera of Chicago, conductor of The Crossing (Philadelphia's new music choir), and music director of the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati. He has served as chorus master at the Spoleto Festival, Italy and at Welsh National Opera, and he was music director of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, with which he won Chorus America's Margaret Hillis National Award for Excellence in Choral Music.

Joseph Flummerfelt is director of choral music at the New York Philharmonic and co-artistic director of Spoleto USA. He is considered the foremost choral musician in the United States. He served as artistic director at Westminster Choir College for 30 years and his choirs sang and recorded with the world's great orchestras.

Table of Contents

Foreword Kurt Masur vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Part I The Early Years

1 Early Influences 3

2 Nadia Boulanger and Cultural Influences 18

3 Robert Shaw 25

4 Menotti and Spoleto 33

Part II Philosophy-The Crossing

5 Setting the Sound 45

6 The Crossing 48

Part III Preparing for Major Conductors

7 Leonard Bernstein 59

8 Boulez, Mehta, Early Music, and Preparing 62

9 Giulini, Masur, Abbado, Muti, Levine 68

Part IV Thoughts on Composers

10 Stravinsky 79

11 Barber, Britten, Copland, Schoenberg 86

12 Messiaen 91

13 Glass, Adams, and World Premieres 95

14 Twelve Tone, Tonality, and Penderecki 101

Part V Choral Sound, Conducting, and Culture

15 Westminster Choir College, Voice Building, and Choral Sound 111

16 Conducting 120

17 Culture 123

Part VI Conclusion

18 Final Words 131

Appendix A Biographical Highlights 136

Appendix B Collaborating Orchestras and Conductors 152

Discography 155

Index 185

About the Subject and Author 193