Orpheus in Manhattan: William Schuman and the Shaping of America's Musical Life

by Steve Swayne

Winner of the ASCAP Nicolas Slonimsky Award for Outstanding Musical Biography

The musical landscape of New York City and the United States of America would look quite different had it not been for William Schuman. Orpheus in Manhattan , a fully objective and comprehensive biography of Schuman, portrays a man who had a profound influence upon the artistic and political institutions of his day and beyond. Steve Swayne draws heavily upon Schuman's letters, writings, and manuscripts as well as unprecedented access to archival recordings and previously unknown correspondence. The winner of the first Pulitzer Prize in Music, Schuman composed music that is rhythmically febrile, harmonically pungent, melodically long-breathed, and timbrally brilliant, and Swayne offers an astute analysis of his work, including many unpublished music scores. Swayne also describes Schuman's role as president of the Juilliard School of Music and of Lincoln Center, tracing how he both expanded the boundaries of music education and championed the performing arts. Filled with new discoveries
and revisions of the received historical narrative, Orpheus in Manhattan confirms Schuman as a major figure in America's musical life.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

712 pages, Hardcover

First published January 10, 2011

Reviews

[Andrew Marr]

I rate William Schuman as one of the best American composers of the twentieth century, so a biography of him is of some interest. Trained in business administration as well as in music, Schuman used these skills as president of the Julliard School of Music and later president of Lincoln Center during the formative years when the complex was being built. This put Schuman in the middle of the ferment of musical development in America, especially as it centered on New York. Schuman's interactions and friendships with many significant composers makes the story of his life the story of much else in American music. One of many attractive aspects of Schuman's character is his generous promotion of the music of others. Some of Schuman's works are discussed on some (but not great) detail, among them the violin concerto that had a long history of different versions before Schuman was satisfied with it, but other works like the sixth & 8th symphonies are not discussed very much. This has the advantage of not bogging the reader down in too many technical details but the unique and powerful structure of these two symphonies warrant some discussion of their inner workings. Even so, this is a helpful & informative book on the subject.

[Eric Hollister]

A must-read for fans of the music of William Schuman. Extensively researched and engagingly written.