Henry Playford: a Bibliographical Study

<p>Henry Playford (1657-1709) was one of the most important London music publishers in the period 1680 to 1710. He was the son of the music publisher John Playford and a member of the Company of Stationers, and his business practices owed much to his father and to his training in traditional methods of book publishing and production. Henry Playford's publishing career is here examined in two ways: as a continuation of his father's methods; and as a response to competition from publishers of engraved music, most notably John Walsh. The lives and trade practices of both John and Henry Playford are described. Publications are examined in three main categories: musical publications originally established by John Playford and continued by Henry; new kinds of musical publications introduced by Henry; and publications not containing music. Details concerning his career as a bookseller are presented, as is information relating to other activities not directly relevant to publishing or bookselling, most notably his activities in the sale of art works. His relationships with other members of the book trade - printers , partners and apprentices - are described, and documents relating to the lawsuit between Playford and the printer William Pearson are re-examined and re-assessed. His competitors and successors are identified , and their activities described. This section concludes with an examination of previous writings about Henry Playford, and a re-assessment of his place and importance in English music publishing. The basis of the study is a descriptive bibliography of the publications issued by Henry Playford. It is presented, together with indexes of the works and of book trade members, and with illustrations of some title - pages, printed ornaments, and engravings.</p>

Henry Playford: a Bibliographical Study

<p>Henry Playford (1657-1709) was one of the most important London music publishers in the period 1680 to 1710. He was the son of the music publisher John Playford and a member of the Company of Stationers, and his business practices owed much to his father and to his training in traditional methods of book publishing and production. Henry Playford's publishing career is here examined in two ways: as a continuation of his father's methods; and as a response to competition from publishers of engraved music, most notably John Walsh. The lives and trade practices of both John and Henry Playford are described. Publications are examined in three main categories: musical publications originally established by John Playford and continued by Henry; new kinds of musical publications introduced by Henry; and publications not containing music. Details concerning his career as a bookseller are presented, as is information relating to other activities not directly relevant to publishing or bookselling, most notably his activities in the sale of art works. His relationships with other members of the book trade - printers , partners and apprentices - are described, and documents relating to the lawsuit between Playford and the printer William Pearson are re-examined and re-assessed. His competitors and successors are identified , and their activities described. This section concludes with an examination of previous writings about Henry Playford, and a re-assessment of his place and importance in English music publishing. The basis of the study is a descriptive bibliography of the publications issued by Henry Playford. It is presented, together with indexes of the works and of book trade members, and with illustrations of some title - pages, printed ornaments, and engravings.</p>

Behind Musical Stages •

The first two decades of the twentieth century were a very vivid period in the musical life of Kristiania. Except for symphonic concerts given by the orchestras of Musikforeningen and the Nationaltheatret audiences had an opportunity to attend many solo and chamber music performances. The organizers of these were first of all concert bureaus existing in the city. Each of them served a group of its own artists – both Norwegian and foreign. The aim of this text is to show what musical life in Kristiania looked like behind the concert stages. The press reviews also revealed a connection between the impresarios' and the music publishers' business. Besides, a comparison between the Norwegian and European impresarios revealed that the period under scrutiny was the moment of transition in the profile of this profession in Norway.

Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust

As of 2018, technological innovation in the music industry at large had impacted firms in nearly every sector. Yet, music publishers have been traditionally unconcerned with technological advancement. Several competitive forces have made this position sustainable, but the broader industry’s pace of change was bound to reach the music publishing sector. The laissez-faire attitude of prominent market players in the publishing space has led to a market that was ripe for value innovation, and Downtown Music Publishing has already capitalized in this space, differentiating themselves from their competitors. This case highlights the choices the CEO and co-founder of Downtown Music Publishing and the rest of the senior management team must make about a new product. Should they keep it internal, or should it be spun off?

Educational and Methodical Literature for the Clavier and Piano in the History of Russian Music Publishing of the Second Half of the 18th — Early 20th Century

The Russian piano school is a unique phenomenon in the global cultural space, a multifaceted and creative phenomenon, a source of creative insights and vivid interpretations. The history of Russian piano performance is deeply and comprehensively studied and is characterized by a wide semantic range. A special place in it is occupied by educational and methodical literature produced by major music publishers in Moscow and St. Petersburg during their formation and development.The appeal to this topic is connected with the need to create a primary idea of the activities of music publishers for the production of educational materials in the historical dynamics and perspective. This complex process can be perceived as a synthesis of European traditions and Russian experience — a multidimensional multifunctional landscape of the era, illustrative reflection of important events in the cultural life of the country.The specificity of the problem has an impressive demonstration volume. It includes the strategy and tactics of development of Russian music publishing companies, production of educational and scientific-methodical literature by Russian and foreign authors, stages in the development of piano art, increase in the production output, achievements of the Russian piano school and its unique pedagogical experience.“P. Jurgenson” company’s catalogues, stored in the Russian State library, reflect the trends and directions that were dominant in the educational literature for piano. They include well-established, tested methods of piano playing, collections of exercises, and anthologies that enriched the pedagogical repertoire with compositions to develop of the technical base of students and expand the arsenal of its expressive means. The study aims at a primary classification of “P. Jurgenson” publishing house’s educational resources recorded in its catalogues of the late 19th — early 20th century.

Operatic Canons and Repertories in Italy c. 1900

This chapter outlines how a fundamental crisis arose in Italian opera houses by 1900, shaped by the focus on canonic repertory as it was defined by the leading theaters and music publishers. Planning of repertory became focused on specific kinds of operas—in effect a canonic typology—from which a work was chosen as appropriate to a specific season or social context. Eventually, this repertory came to be perceived as finite, establishing certain canonic types as standard choices for the organization of a theater’s repertory or a publisher’s list. The leading such framework took shape most significantly in Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, devised by publishers and glorified by key artists, most significantly the conductor Arturo Toscanini. This chapter is paired with Carlotta Sorba’s “Theaters, markets, and canonic implications in the Italian opera system, 1820–1880.”

The Polish Tin Pan Alley, a Jewish Street

This chapter highlights the 28th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Manhattan, that became the home of several music publishers. It looks into the various accounts of how 28th Street came to be called “Tin Pan Alley,” pointing out the observation that the pianos played by song “pluggers” produced a cacophony reminiscent of the clatter of tin pans. It also mentions how the name “Tin Pan Alley” was eventually used as a metonym for the American popular-music industry. The chapter explores the pre-eminent role of Jewish composers, poets, songwriters, and performers in the Polish popular music industry of the 1920s and 1930s. It also focuses on Adam Aston, who was credited with popularizing the first Polish rumba, and Mieczysław Fogg, the most popular Polish singer of the twentieth century.

Independence

This chapter focuses on Barber’s earliest involvement of the performer in the creative process of a composition, in this case the Cello Sonata, premiered by Orlando Cole. The two would meet regularly, with Cole offering suggestions for improvements to the music. This fresh new take in composing music was instantly recognized by friends and audience alike. The founder of the Curtis Institute, Mary Bok, made further efforts in advancing Barber’s and also Gian Carlo Menotti’s careers by conducting auditions with music publishers. This resulted in publications of Barber’s work by G. Schirmer, as well as national radio performances where he was recognized as a pianist, composer, and singer. The chapter also describes Barber’s second large orchestral work, Music for a Scene from Shelley. He also wrote incidental music for a play by Mary Kennedy, One Day of Spring, presented at the Annie Russell Theater in Winter Park, Florida.

John Milton and Musical Abjection

In John Milton’s works, music is a powerful instigator of unsettling modes of poetry. From A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle to Samson Agonistes and Paradise Lost, Milton remains fascinated by the transformative potential of song, though he comes increasingly to eschew its uncontrollable qualities. In his later career, Milton found it increasingly pressing to subordinate music to his authorial voice. Yet his fantasies of bibliographic control did not prevent him from influencing the songbook movement of the 1650s or from becoming a source for Dryden’s unperformed opera The State of Innocence. Tracing Milton’s connections to his erstwhile collaborator Alice Egerton, to Cavalier songwriters including William Cartwright, and to music publishers including John Playford, Chapter 4 reveals that poetry retained its tendencies toward media adaptation notwithstanding the conflicted desires of poets.

The Jewish Population of Tennessee

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the first way that the imprimatur of Broadway reached consumers was through the immense distribution of colorful and tuneful sheet music. Early music publishers learned quickly that associating a song with a Broadway show such as the Ziegfeld Follies, Broadway personalities such as Al Jolson and Fanny Brice, or Broadway composers such as Victor Herbert gave that tune a special identity that increased its popularity. In addition, music publishers, such as Max Dreyfus, were major power brokers in the popular music industry, yielding the ability to make a song into a hit, and continued to be influential through the first half of the twentieth century.