eBook

The Ellington Century

Schiff, David

2019

Overview

Breaking down walls between genres that are usually discussed separately—classical, jazz, and popular—this highly engaging book offers a compelling new integrated view of twentieth-century music. Placing Duke Ellington (1899–1974) at the center of the story, David Schiff explores music written during the composer’s lifetime in terms of broad ideas such as rhythm, melody, and harmony. He shows how composers and performers across genres shared the common pursuit of representing the rapidly changing conditions of modern life. The Ellington Century demonstrates how Duke Ellington’s music is as vital to musical modernism as anything by Stravinsky, more influential than anything by Schoenberg, and has had a lasting impact on jazz and pop that reaches from Gershwin to contemporary R&B.

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Subject: 20th century classical music / 20th century history / 20th century music / aaron copland / book club reads / books for music lovers / discussion books / easy to read / educational books / engaging / evolution of music / gifts for music lovers / history of music / how music changed modern life / igor stravinsky / jazz / jazz history / learning about composers / learning from experts / leisure reads / music / MUSIC / General / music and culture / music exploration / musicians / nonfiction / page turner / pop music / timeless music / vacation reads