Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

American composer Sessions (1896-1985) carried on lengthy written conversations with many noteworthy composers and musicians. The presentation here of some 200 of those letters--edited, annotated, and set in context--provides a firsthand view of music-making in the 20th century. Among the richest exchanges are those between Sessions and Aaron Copland in the late 1920s. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Olmstead, author of other works on Sessions (e.g., Conversations with Roger Sessions , LJ 5/1/87), has compiled a compelling volume of his letters. Her superb editing, fluid writing style, and devotion to the subject enhances a collection notable for its interesting biographical material and eloquence. Sessions is an important figure in 20th-century American music and music pedagogy who is not well represented on major recording labels or in the concert hall, making this publication a welcome event. The letters reveal him to be of considerable intellect, with an exacting, self-critical nature that proved problematic during various stages of his career. Although much of the material is devoted to business or technical matters, there are absorbing accounts of his artistic development and fascinating exchanges with eminent personalities in and out of 20th-century music.-- Daniel Fermon, Museum of Modern Art Lib., New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Olmstead has also written Roger Sessions and His Music (CH, Oct'85) and edited Sessions's Conversations. . . (CH, Dec'87). The Correspondence covers most of the 20th century (1909-85) and consists of more than 200 letters by Sessions and 60 by his correspondents. Olmstead has organized the letters into 12 chronological chapters which correspond to significant passages in Sessions's life and compositional style. Her interspersed commentary and her annotations for the letters are very helpful for understanding both Sessions's personal life and the issues about which he was particularly concerned. A composer perhaps more honored than popular, Sessions nevertheless was the intellectual leader in American music for a major part of his career. The book has significant correspondence to Aaron Copland, Luigi Dallapiccola, Arnold Schoenberg, Ernest Bloch, David Diamond, Ernst Krenek, and many others. According to Olmstead, Sessions did not write with a view toward publication, and readers are often treated to Sessions's private feelings and his candor about others. At the same time, many letters often approach the philosophical breadth of the composer's numerous essays, such as his discussion of "American" music in a long letter to Copland (pp. 177-182). This special glimpse into the life of one of the 20th century's major musical figures is recommended for all libraries. W. K. Kearns; University of Colorado at Boulder