Henry Cowell

Joel Sachs offers the first complete biography of one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century American music. Henry Cowell, a major musical innovator of the first half of the century, left a rich body of compositions spanning a wide range of styles. But as Sachs shows, Cowell's legacy extends far beyond his music. He worked tirelessly to create organizations such as the highly influential New Music Quarterly, New Music Recordings, and the Pan-American Association of Composers, through which great talents like Ruth Crawford Seeger and Charles Ives first became known in the US and abroad. As one of the first Western advocates for World Music, he used lectures, articles, and recordings to bring other musical cultures to myriad listeners and students including John Cage and Lou Harrison, who attributed their life work to Cowell's influence. Finally, Sachs describes the tragedy of Cowell's life, being sentenced to fifteen years in San Quentin -- of which he served four -- after pleading guilty to a morals charge that even the prosecutor felt was trivial. Providing a wealth of insight into Cowell's ideas and philosophy, Joel Sachs lays out a much-needed perspective on one of the giants of twentieth-century American music.

Joel Sachs offers the first complete biography of one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century American music. Henry Cowell, a major musical innovator of the first half of the century, left a rich body of compositions spanning a wide range of styles. But as Sachs shows, Cowell's legacy extends far beyond his music. He worked tirelessly to create organizations such as the highly influential New Music Quarterly, New Music Recordings, and the Pan-American Association of Composers, through which great talents like Ruth Crawford Seeger and Charles Ives first became known in the US and abroad. As one of the first Western advocates for World Music, he used lectures, articles, and recordings to bring other musical cultures to myriad listeners and students including John Cage and Lou Harrison, who attributed their life work to Cowell's influence. Finally, Sachs describes the tragedy of Cowell's life, being sentenced to fifteen years in San Quentin -- of which he served four -- after pleading guilty to a morals charge that even the prosecutor felt was trivial. Providing a wealth of insight into Cowell's ideas and philosophy, Joel Sachs lays out a much-needed perspective on one of the giants of twentieth-century American music.

AcknowledgementsIntroductionPrologue: Of the Three Ladies, Henry, and Some OthersPart I -- Child to ManChapter 1: Clarissa and HarryChapter 2: HenryChapter 3: Years of VoyageChapter 4: The Turning PointChapter 5: The Expanding CircleChapter 6: Bi-Coastal LifeChapter 6: Genesis of a Theoretical SystemChapter 8: Henry Goes to WarChapter 9: Marketing HenryPart II -- International Ultramodernist VirtuosoChapter 10: The TrioChapter 11: Conquering Europe, First Attempt (1923)Chapter 12: Attacking the American MarketChapter 13: Europe Again (1926)Chapter 14: Making It in America, Scene 2Chapter 15: Europe, Third Installment (1929)Chapter 16: New Musical ResourcesChapter 17: New Projects and Old (1929-1931)Part III -- The Frenetic YearsChapter 18: Looking beyond Europe from BerlinChapter 19: American InterludeChapter 20: Berlin AgainChapter 21: The End of VirtuosityChapter 22: The New TechnologiesChapter 23: Collapsing DreamsChapter 24: American Composition or Americanist MusicChapter 25: Surveying the Larger Musical WorldChapter 26: Music and PoliticsChapter 27: Henry and His CircleChapter 28: A Doomed RomanceChapter 29: Compositions of 1929-1936Chapter 30: Thirty-NinePart IV -- Four Endless YearsChapter 31: Life StopsChapter 32: The HearingChapter 33: Arriving and Adjusting: The First SummerChapter 34: The Second Day of ReckoningChapter 35: Living With ItChapter 36: Living With It (continued)Chapter 37: The Melody Book and Other IdeasChapter 38: Toward the ExitPart V - Life ResumesChapter 39: The First Six MonthsChapter 40: First Turning PointChapter 41: Problem SolvedChapter 42: End of an EraChapter 43: The War EffortChapter 44: Old Friendships RenewedChapter 45: FigsChapter 46: A Settled LifeChapter 47: SimplicityChapter 48: Collaborations and an Ives BiographyChapter 49: Europe AgainPart VI -- World TravelerChapter 50: The Big TripChapter 51: Iran, IChapter 52: IndiaChapter 53: Iran, IIChapter 54: Change of PlansChapter 55: A New Radicalism, 1957-1961Chapter 56: Asia AgainChapter 57: Years of Honor, 1961-63Chapter 58: The Cold War AgainChapter 59: Home Again, 1963-1964Chapter 60: FinaleChapter 61: Who Was Henry Cowell?EpilogueNotesSelective BibliographyIndex