Felsenfeld, Daniel

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Felsenfeld, Daniel

PERSONAL: Born in CA. Education: University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A.; New England Conservatory, M.A., Ph.D., 2001.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Amadeus Press, 512 Newark Pompton Tpke., Pompton Plains, NJ 07444.

CAREER: Taught at the New England Conservatory, Boston, MA, and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Composer-journalist for WNYC's Sound Check, New York, NY.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Aspen School, the Composer's Conference, 1997, 2003, and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, 2003.

WRITINGS:

YOUNG ADULT

(With Donna Getzinger) Antonio Vivaldi and the Baroque Tradition, Morgan Reynolds (Greensboro, NC), 2004.

(With Getzinger) Johann Sebastian Bach and the Art of Baroque Music, Morgan Reynolds (Greensboro, NC), 2004.

(With Getzinger) Johannes Brahms and the Twilight of Romanticism, Morgan Reynolds (Greensboro, NC), 2004.

(With Getzinger) Richard Wagner and German Opera, Morgan Reynolds (Greensboro, NC), 2004.

(With Getzinger) George Frideric Handel and Music for Voices, Morgan Reynolds Greensboro, NC), 2004.

Ives and Copland: A Listener's Guide, includes CD, Amadeus Press (Pompton Plains, NJ), 2004.

Britten and Barber, includes CD, Amadeus Press (Pompton Plains, NJ), 2005.

Horowitz and Rubenstein, includes CD, Amadeus Press (Pompton Plains, NJ), 2005.

OTHER

(Composer) The Last of Manhattan, libretto by Ernest Hilbert, produced in New York, NY, 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Newsday, Playbill, Time Out New York, Strings, Billboard, NewMusicBox, ClassicsToday.com, and Full Score.

SIDELIGHTS: Composer Daniel Felsenfeld brings his musical knowledge to a number of biographies of well-known artists, including Antonio Vivaldi and the Baroque Tradition, one of several volumes he wrote for the Morgan Reynolds "Classical Composers" series with Donna Getzinger. Called "well-researched" by School Library Journal's Sophie R. Brookover, the volume documents the rise and fall of Vivaldi, who died in impoverished obscurity, but who contributed significantly to Baroque music and the concerto form. The authors also note that for Vivaldi, music had been his business. He was a priest who wrote two concertos each month and four operas a year during his prime, at which time he was supported by the church and royalty. Upon his death, Vivaldi was laid in an unmarked grave, and his music was lost for some 200 years. In reviewing Antonio Vivaldi and the Baroque Tradition, Hazel Rochman noted in Booklist that "best of all is the discussion of the music, especially The Four Seasons, music that was, fortunately for us, rediscovered.

Another book in the series is Johann Sebastian Bach and the Art of Baroque Music. School Library Journal contributor Renee Steinberg noted that "social and musical history are carefully integrated into this clearly written biography." The volume follows Bach's development as a musician, beginning with the violin and then on to the organ and other keyboard instruments. Noted are his strivings for musical perfection and high standards. Bach is also shown as the devoted father and husband, who often made sacrifices in his own career to advance those of his sons. Booklist's Gillian Engberg called "best" those sections that describe Bach at work, as well as the appended glossary that contains definitions of music terminology. Engberg called Johann Sebastian Bach and the Art of Baroque Music. "a sturdy overview for research or personal interest."

The subject of Richard Wagner and German Opera was a radical genius who is known for his music, his contributions to opera, but also for his infidelities, anti-Semitism, and irresponsible management of money. "The plot of Wagner's life is front and center, as it should be, and the authors hit every note clearly," concluded Brookover. Another volume in the series is George Frideric Handel and Music for Voices, which studies the life of the composer who pursued his music in spite of his father's insistence that music was an unacceptable profession.

Felsenfeld has also written for Amadeus Press's "Parallel Lives" series, beginning with Ives and Copland: A Listener's Guide, a study of the lives and music of American composers Charles Ives and Aaron Copland, with the emphasis on their music. The volume comes with its own CD, which contains Copland's complete Appalachian Spring and shorter pieces by Ives.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Antonio Vivaldi and the Baroque Tradition, p. 1436; June 1, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Art of Baroque Music, p. 1752.

Reviewer's Bookwatch, February, 2005, Henry Berry, review of Ives and Copland: A Listener's Guide.

School Library Journal, June, 2004, Sophie R. Brookover, review of Antonio Vivaldi and the Baroque Tradition, p. 166; August, 2004, Renee Steinberg, review of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Art of Baroque Music, p. 136; November, 2004, Renee Steinberg, review of George Frideric Handel and Music for Voices, Sophie R. Brookover, review of Richard Wagner and German Opera p. 162.