An inspiring collection of essays and an affirmation for music teachers everywhere.
A longtime Seattle piano teacher offers a collection of music-themed autobiographical essays relating his profound love and gratitude for his students, his teachers and the works of the great masters.
Debut author Kronacher writes that “it has repeatedly been my great, good fortune to have bumped up against some wonderful souls, and music has almost always been a conduit in bringing us together.” In these essays, his respectful approach clearly depicts each individual as a fully realized person, even if his encounters with them were brief. The author’s warmth, even in stories about his youngest students, never results in saccharine storytelling or platitudes. He brings the same spirit to his profiles of places, describing the vibrancy of New York City’s ethnic neighborhoods when he was a student and the beauty and difficulty of modern Vienna—the city of Mozart and Schubert and also the place where his mother and aunt experienced a lovingly remembered childhood and a terrible wartime escape. He’s more sentimental about pieces of music and the quirks of the various pianos he’s had the opportunity to own and play—but even then, he realizes that they only matter because of the people who bring them to life. This educator, committed to appreciating music (through his organization, Musical Experiences), seems just as committed to appreciating life; his observations are complex and nuanced without ever relying on harsh criticism. No wonder his students asked to see themselves profiled in this book. He’s no Pollyanna, but his essays showcase a deep understanding of the beauty manifest in every person—exactly what the best teachers need to find in their students.
An inspiring collection of essays and an affirmation for music teachers everywhere.Pub Date: March 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1481192446
Page Count: 248
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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