Scarecrow Press The Conservatoire Americain: A History

The Conservatoire Américain, the French musical institution at the Palais de Fontainebleau, was responsible for training generations of American musicians. Its students and faculty are among some of the most influential musical figures of the twentieth century, including Aaron Copland, Nadia Boulanger, and Elliott Carter. Within its walls, students were introduced to great French composers like Maurice Ravel, Jean Françaix, and Darius Milhaud, many of whom wrote works specifically for Fontainebleau attendees. It brought performers into the recording age and encouraged women to pursue solo musical careers at a time when such a thing was exceptionally rare among Americans. The Conservatoire Américain: A History is the first full-length narrative of this institution. Drawing on rare materials from the Conservatoire's archives, combining them with personal correspondence, interviews, and first-person narratives with students and faculty, author Kendra Preston Leonard discusses a variety of topics important to the institution. These topics include―among others―the dissemination of French repertoire during the twentieth century, the pedagogical approaches used in teaching American music students, the impact of training Americans abroad, and the influence their French training had on performance, interpretation, and composition. The book concludes with several appendixes offering comprehensive reference information on the school's practices, the courses offered, awards and diplomas given, and notable students, faculty, and guest artists who attended the institution. Review compelling material--H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online Americans seeking specialized training in composition or performance had to go to Europe to find it, primarily to Germany until World War I made that impossible. The Paris Conservatoire provided the desired training, but generally was not open to foreigners, so a conservatory especially for Americans was established that paralleled and often drew instructors from the Paris Conservatoire. Many now well known composers and performers attended. Leonard, a music scholar specializing in international exchange and women in music, traces the history of the institution from its founding in 1921 to the present.--Reference and Research Book News Kendra Preston Leonard has finally covered the famed Conservatoire Américain in the detail it deserves. We have known for years that many important American composers and musicians studied there, but the institution's complete history has never been told. Leonard covers it from its founding after World War I, through its high moments before World II, in exile in the United States, in Nadia Boulanger's long and controversial directorship, and in the difficult years following her death. Leonard explains why the Conservatoire Américain is now a shadow of what it once was and how it has changed in the face of the many other summer festivals and schools now available to students. This book is an important read for anyone interested in American music of the twentieth century, the training of American composers, and in music education in general.--The University of Kansas, Paul Laird, Director of Musicology Division, The University of Kansas, author of Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research. Leonard's informative and entertaining account of the history of the Conservatoire Americain is a fine record of its good and bad times, its triumphs and its failures.--Fontes Artis Musicae Recommended for large public and academic collections that specialize in music.--Library Journal Recommended.--CHOICE The book's narrative style is assured and lively....No lack of detail is spared in creating a vivid description of daily life at the institution throughout its history....Leonard has successfully and objectively described the portrait of an institution....Leonard's study is a formidable achievement that provides substantial insight into a long-negl