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PLAYING FOR THEIR LIVES

Name: PLAYING FOR THEIR LIVES
Author: Tricia Tunstall
ISBN: 978-0-393-24564-6

THE GLOBAL EL SISTEMA MOVEMENT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH MUSIC

by Tricia Tunstall Eric Booth ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

A wide-ranging, highly positive assessment of the El Sistema movement, serving as both inspiration and manual for would-be...

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In this follow-up to Tunstall’s Changing Lives (2011), which examined the growth of El Sistema in Venezuela, the authors look at the expansion of this artistic-social project around the world.

Activists and artists Tunstall and Booth traveled to 25 countries interviewing directors, teachers, students, and parents involved in more than 100 El Sistema–inspired musical and educational programs to understand how the project’s principles are working in diverse environments “from Kabul to Rio, from Bethlehem to Soweto, from Manila to Manhattan.” Acknowledging that research is not yet available to provide sufficient hard data about the program’s value, the authors give their own assessment of El Sistema’s impact, looking at its challenges and struggles as well as its successes. From its beginnings some 40 years ago in Venezuela, it reached out to children of poverty; in Europe today, it reaches out to children damaged by ethnic segregation and prejudice. The organization’s goal is to create not just musicians, but responsible citizens, and to that end, El Sistema tries to provide children of all skill levels with a musical community where they develop self-discipline, confidence, and cooperative skills. The book contains three main parts: the first is an explanation of what El Sistema is, how it started, and how it has spread; the second is a close look at each of its six core principles; the third is an overview of how it operates in different cultures, the various ways it is funded, and the networking that links its far-flung programs. Profiles and personal stories abound, and material that did not fit into the narrative flow appears throughout in boxed inserts, which is occasionally somewhat unwieldy. Appendices provide specific information on how one can become involved and lend the movement support.

A wide-ranging, highly positive assessment of the El Sistema movement, serving as both inspiration and manual for would-be social activists.

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-393-24564-6

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: June 7, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.