American Muse The Life and Times of William Schuman

C5b. Very Good. Hardcover. Hardcover. 8vo. Published by Amadeus Press, New York. 2008. Xvii, 595 pgs. Signed and inscribed by Joseph Polisi on the title page. First Edition/First Printing. DJ has light shelf-wear present to the DJ extremities. Bound in cloth boards with titles present to the spine and front board. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. President of The Juilliard School and then of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts during the years 1945-1968, Schuman (1910-1992) was an “artistic catalyst” who was instrumental in shaping how America perceived and supported music, dance and drama in the second half of the twentieth century. His influence as an arts administrator, educator and composer caused him to be considered at one time as “probably the most powerful figure in the world of art music. ” Complex, driven, and filled with a confident optimism that characterized America at the time, Schuman thought of himself as “a part of many different worlds. ” Those worlds included his life as a composer of more than one hundred works in orchestral, choral, chamber, and operatic settings. His music has been characterized as “full of American directness in its vibrant rhythms and brilliant orchestrations. ” This first-ever complete biography of Schuman brings the many threads of his life together within the context of the personalities and events that shaped how we experience the arts in America in the twenty-first century. EB; 8vo 8" - 9" tall .