MICHAEL MECKNA is Professor of Music History at Texas Christian University. He is the author of Twentieth-Century Brass Soloists (Greenwood, 1994) and Satchmo: The Louis Armstrong Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 2004).
?. . . This present volume organises and often annotates the
immense amount of material by and about this distinguished and
influential American. It is offered in the spirit of the late
Irving Lowen's dictum that "bibliography is the backbone of
history," and it should be useful ot studies of Thomson's
compositions and writings, to performers seeking sources of
material and reviews, and to scholars generally intersted in
comparative studies of genres, style or aesthetics. The book has
been divided into the following main sections: a brief biography; a
complete list of works and performances; a discography; and an
annotated bibliography.?-The Book Journal
?Compilations like this one, which both list compositions and
summarize secondary literature, are much needed, since the volume
of writings about composers have become so large it is difficult to
keep pace with.... Meckna lists 288 citations alphabetically by
author in one chapter, with one- or two-sentence annotations in
most cases. Hundreds of other citations are found in the Works and
Performances' chapter, clustered with the pieces they discuss. The
list of compositions include instrumentation, duration,
publication, and premiere information. Thomson's own writing, as a
scholar and critic, is given a full bibliographic inventory. There
is a discography of all commercial recordings, whether or not
currently in print. Compositions are listed by date and by title,
and there is a general index. A thorough and impressive study of a
significant American artist, recommended for all academic
libraries.?-Choice
." . . This present volume organises and often annotates the
immense amount of material by and about this distinguished and
influential American. It is offered in the spirit of the late
Irving Lowen's dictum that "bibliography is the backbone of
history," and it should be useful ot studies of Thomson's
compositions and writings, to performers seeking sources of
material and reviews, and to scholars generally intersted in
comparative studies of genres, style or aesthetics. The book has
been divided into the following main sections: a brief biography; a
complete list of works and performances; a discography; and an
annotated bibliography."-The Book Journal
"Compilations like this one, which both list compositions and
summarize secondary literature, are much needed, since the volume
of writings about composers have become so large it is difficult to
keep pace with.... Meckna lists 288 citations alphabetically by
author in one chapter, with one- or two-sentence annotations in
most cases. Hundreds of other citations are found in the Works and
Performances' chapter, clustered with the pieces they discuss. The
list of compositions include instrumentation, duration,
publication, and premiere information. Thomson's own writing, as a
scholar and critic, is given a full bibliographic inventory. There
is a discography of all commercial recordings, whether or not
currently in print. Compositions are listed by date and by title,
and there is a general index. A thorough and impressive study of a
significant American artist, recommended for all academic
libraries."-Choice
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