Synopses & Reviews
A distinguished
New York Times editor explores the history of the pipe organ in America in a book that will intrigue and delight anyone interested in classical music and popular culture.
For centuries, pipe organs stood at the summit of musical and technological achievement, admired as the most complex and intricate mechanisms the human race had yet devised. In All the Stops, New York Times journalist Craig Whitney journeys through the history of the American pipe organ and brings to life the curious characters who have devoted their lives to its music.
From the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, organ music was wildly popular in America. Organ builders in New York and New England could hardly fill the huge demand for both concert hall and home organs. Master organbuilders found ingenious ways of using electricity to make them sound like orchestras. Organ players developed cult followings and bitter rivalries. One movement arose to restore to American organs the clarity and precision that baroque organs had in centuries past, while another took electronic organs to the rock concert halls, where younger listeners could be found. But while organbuilders and organists were fighting with each other, popular audiences lost interest in the organ.
Today, organs are beginning to make a comeback in concert halls and churches across America. Craig Whitney brings the story to life and up to date in a humorous, engaging book about the instruments and vivid personalities that inspired his lifelong passion: the great art of the majestic pipe organ.
Review
"The author, never at a loss for a superlative, presents his narrative in an engaging manner, sprinkling the historical commentaries with enough candid anecdotes to delight the hearts of even the most devoted and knowledgeable organ buff. A thoroughly enjoyable as well as an enjoyably thorough survey, this may well be the first book to associate organ building with the lives of its most famous performers." Library Journal
Review
"Whitney (Spy Trader) admits that many important American organ builders and performers are left out of his history. But by concentrating on a few outstanding personalities and the organs they built or played on, he presents an engrossing story that should help fuel the resurgence of interest in the organ in this country." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
A distinguished New York Times editor explores the history of the pipe organ in America in a book that will intrigue and delight anyone interested in classical music and culture. Photos.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-303) and index.
Table of Contents
Ernest M. Skinner and the orchestral organ in New England -- Monster organs, mammoth audiences -- G. Donald Harrison and Aeolian-Skinner: the American classic organ -- The invention of E. Power Biggs -- "The Fox" -- "The way God intended organs to be built" -- "Heavy organs" -- Back to the future -- Reborn.