Perfect Pitch

Perfect Pitch traces Nicolas Slonimsky's journey through the world of music as a conductor, composer, lexicographer and musical thinker. The narrative follows his early life in Russia through his immigration to America and subsequent musical career spanning much of the 20th century. The book documents Slonimsky's encounters with major musical figures like Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and Henry Cowell. His experiences conducting premieres of challenging modern works and compiling his landmark music reference books are recounted with precision and wit. Slonimsky's memoir reveals the complex intersections between classical tradition and musical modernism during a transformative period in music history. The text offers insights into the development of 20th century composition while examining broader questions about musical innovation, technique, and the nature of listening itself.

Readers describe Perfect Pitch as an entertaining memoir filled with musical anecdotes and encounters with composers like Ives, Varèse, and Cowell. Many appreciate Slonimsky's humor and his insights into 20th century classical music. Likes: - Personal stories about major composers - Technical musical analysis balanced with accessibility - Authentic behind-the-scenes perspective of musical life - Clear writing style with wit Dislikes: - Some sections focus too heavily on theory - Occasional name-dropping - Not enough depth about certain composers - Can be academic in tone Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (43 ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (11 reviews) From reviews: "His encounters with Varèse and Cowell are worth the price alone" - Amazon reviewer "Brings the musical world of the early 1900s to life" - Goodreads user "Too much emphasis on his own compositions" - Goodreads user

Lexicon of Musical Invective by Nicolas Slonimsky This collection of critical reviews captures the same wit and musical scholarship as Perfect Pitch while focusing on how famous composers were misunderstood by their contemporaries.

Music Since 1900 by Nicolas Slonimsky This chronological account of musical events delivers facts and historical context with the same meticulous attention to detail found in Perfect Pitch.

The Musical Life by W.J. Turner The memoir chronicles a music critic's experiences in the classical music world through personal encounters with composers and performers.

Music Ho! by Constant Lambert This examination of modern music combines technical analysis with historical perspective in the tradition of Slonimsky's observations.

The Joy of Music by Leonard Bernstein These essays and conversations about classical music reflect the same blend of scholarly insight and personal experience that characterizes Perfect Pitch.

🎵 Nicolas Slonimsky possessed absolute pitch and could identify complex chords, including microtonal intervals, with remarkable accuracy – a skill he maintained into his 90s. 🎼 The book explores how only about 1 in 10,000 people have genuine perfect pitch, though this rate is significantly higher among professional musicians, especially in Asian countries where tonal languages are spoken. 🎹 Slonimsky served as conductor for the first performances of many works by Charles Ives and Edgar Varèse, composers who were considered radical and almost unperformable at the time. 🎵 The phenomenon of perfect pitch appears to have a critical learning period in early childhood, typically before age 6, after which it becomes extremely difficult to develop. 🎼 Frank Zappa was a great admirer of Slonimsky's work and invited him to perform on piano during a 1981 concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium – an unexpected collaboration between classical and rock music.