by Shaun Usher (Music 780.922 Let)
In 2009, Shaun Usher started a website called Letters of Note, celebrating previous eras when so much correspondence was done through letter writing. The authors of these letters came from all kinds of disciplines and covered a wide range of topics. In 2013, Usher published a book compiling some of his favorite letters that had been featured on the website, which proved to be quite popular, and has continued to publish more books of these letters, now up to 14 titles.
Many of these books have featured letters
based around themes, such as war, love, mothers, fathers, dogs, cats, and art.
And one of the newest books is Letters of Note: Music. This book features 30
letters that travel across time and many styles of music, making for some
fascinating reading.
In his brief introduction, Usher points out that the letters contained here
span about 200 years, from 1812 to 2019. It’s nice to see some recent letters,
too—it may be somewhat of a lost art, but there are still some good letters out
there! Then we jump right into the letters, which seem to be organized more by
flow than anything—they’re not chronological or alphabetical.
These letters run through a wide range of
emotional territory. Early in the book, we get Helen Keller’s 1924 letter to
the New York Symphony Orchestra, describing her enjoyment of a radio broadcast
of their performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Despite not being able to
hear or see, she was able to experience the music by putting her hands on the
radio, feeling the vibrations describe the majestic narrative of the piece.
Leonard Cohen’s final letter to his muse Marianne Ihlen in 2016 is a heartfelt
closing to their chapter together and their time on earth. Also from 2016, Dr.
Mark Taubert’s letter to the departed David Bowie is both a celebration of his
work, and a celebration of how successful palliative care can be toward making
a person’s final months as productive, meaningful and peaceful as possible.
Some letters reflect the social upheaval of
recent eras. Composer Florence Price’s letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky
in 1943, for example, tells of her difficulties working in music as a black
woman. Musician Angelique Kidjo presents an uplifting open letter to girls all
over the world, encouraging them to pursue their dreams. And Sonic Youth
bassist Kim Gordon is included for her letter to the long-departed Karen
Carpenter.
Some of the letters are downright funny: for
example, the infamous 1969 short memo by Ted Macero at CBS records about Miles
Davis’ new proposed album title “Bitches Brew” makes an appearance. Dr. Steven
Schlozman writes to CVS pharmacy pleading with them to change their hold music,
which he had been subjected to frequently over 20 years at the time of his writing.
And musician Rik Mayall’s satirical 1984 letter to producer Bob Geldof about
being rejected for recording with the Band Aid project is especially
entertaining.
And of course a book like this wouldn’t be
complete without some angry letters aimed at music critics. My favorite two of
those featured here are written by composer Erik Satie and president Harry S.
Truman, the latter of which was quite irritated by a negative review of his
daughter’s singing that ran in the Washington Post.
All told, this is a short but very enjoyable
romp through a variety of letters by, for, and about musicians. While many
musicians prefer to do their communication through music, there’s plenty of
evidence here that they can do their work on the printed page, too.
(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Leonard Bernstein Letters by Leonard
Bernstein, or The John Lennon Letters by John Lennon.)
( official Letters of Note: Music web site ) | (
official Shaun Usher: Letter Nerd web
site )
Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library
Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
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