Harrison Slater
Encyclopedia
Harrison Gradwell Slater (birthdate unknown) is an American writer
, pianist
, and educator.
A pianist, he studied with Anthony di Bonaventura
and for many years with Paul Doguereau
, the noted French pianist who was a pupil of Ravel, Emma Bardac (second wife of Claude Debussy
) and Paderewski. In addition to writing and recording, Slater coaches many world-class pianists, and is Chairman and Artistic Director of the Peabody Mason International Piano Competition
.
For his first book, Slater (the author’s pen name since 1995) travelled to fifty-five cities in nine European countries and completed his research over three years with correspondence to archives throughout Europe
, always posing unresolved questions about Mozart Gedenkstaetten -- the palaces, concert halls and salons in which Mozart performed, the houses and taverns in which he lodged, and the churches and public edifices that he visited. The resulting reference book, In Mozart’s Footsteps, has been called “an amazing feat of scholarship” by the pianist, Alfred Brendel
, while Nicholas Slonimsky described it as “absorbing in its brilliance”.
NightMusic was voted "Rising Star of 2003" by nine publishing houses, was on the Barnes & Noble
bestseller
list for mystery trade paperback for nineteen weeks and was optioned for a film.
Scholarly articles by Slater (a.k.a. Harrison James Wignall) have appeared in the journals Mozart-Jahrbuch, Opera Quarterly and Mozart Studien, among others. Some of his recent discoveries include previously unknown Mozart documents and manuscripts that have shed light on issues of recent Mozart research. He has also written entries for the latest editions of The New Grove, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and has published articles in Perspectives of New Music
, Indiana Theory Review
, and the Nuova rivista musicale italiana.
Slater’s discovery in 1993 of the vocal nocturne tradition, and its influence on Mozart and Chopin are found in his seminal work Mozart and the Duetto Notturno Tradition, and his entry “Duetto Notturno” in The New Grove. His present musicological work on the influence of the vocal nocturne on Chopin's piano music continues that research.
Slater studied music and languages at Brandeis University
, Boston University
, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich
and Harvard, and speaks, in addition to English, German, French and Italian. He was active as a music instructor in Boston
, Munich
, Milan
, and Tokyo
and worked at the National Theatre Munich and La Scala
in Milan
as a ballet pianist, performing numerous concerts.
In 1995, he was awarded a Ph. D. in musicology from Brandeis University
with a dissertation on Mozart’s opera Mitridate.
Presently, Slater has finished recordings featuring the music of Mozart and Chopin, and has completed the sequel to NightMusic, entitled Nocturne (based on rediscovered diaries related to Chopin). His research and writing of the unpublished monograph, “Mozart in Milan” continues and includes, "Mozart and Sacred Music in the Ambrosian Capital" and "Mozart's Singers in Ascanio in Alba," articles which incorporate two handwritten diaries from 1771 found by Slater in archives in Milan.
He resides in an historic apartment in Back Bay, Boston, as well as in Milan
, Paris
and Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and educator.
A pianist, he studied with Anthony di Bonaventura
Anthony di Bonaventura
Anthony di Bonaventura is the Professor of Music at Boston University's College of Fine Arts.Anthony di Bonaventura began piano studies at three years old and gave the first professional concert at four years old. Then he won a scholarship to New York's Music School Settlement at six. At thirteen,...
and for many years with Paul Doguereau
Paul Doguereau
Paul René Doguereau was a French pianist and piano teacher. He spent most of his career in Boston, United States, where he was a well-respected cultural figure.- Education :...
, the noted French pianist who was a pupil of Ravel, Emma Bardac (second wife of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
) and Paderewski. In addition to writing and recording, Slater coaches many world-class pianists, and is Chairman and Artistic Director of the Peabody Mason International Piano Competition
Peabody Mason International Piano Competition
- Benefactress :The name Peabody Mason comes from Miss Fanny Peabody Mason, who until her death in 1948 was an active patron of music both in the United States and abroad. Her musical interests were piano, singing and chamber music...
.
Biography
Harrison Gradwell Slater combines the careers of musicologist, pianist and novelist. He has published three books on Mozart, the last of which is the mystery novel NightMusic, which deals with the life and music of Mozart. The sequel, Nocturne, explores Chopin’s biography and music within a contemporary narrative.For his first book, Slater (the author’s pen name since 1995) travelled to fifty-five cities in nine European countries and completed his research over three years with correspondence to archives throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, always posing unresolved questions about Mozart Gedenkstaetten -- the palaces, concert halls and salons in which Mozart performed, the houses and taverns in which he lodged, and the churches and public edifices that he visited. The resulting reference book, In Mozart’s Footsteps, has been called “an amazing feat of scholarship” by the pianist, Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
, while Nicholas Slonimsky described it as “absorbing in its brilliance”.
NightMusic was voted "Rising Star of 2003" by nine publishing houses, was on the Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
list for mystery trade paperback for nineteen weeks and was optioned for a film.
Scholarly articles by Slater (a.k.a. Harrison James Wignall) have appeared in the journals Mozart-Jahrbuch, Opera Quarterly and Mozart Studien, among others. Some of his recent discoveries include previously unknown Mozart documents and manuscripts that have shed light on issues of recent Mozart research. He has also written entries for the latest editions of The New Grove, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart is the largest and most comprehensive German music encyclopedia, and among Western music reference sources, only the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is comparable to it in size and scope...
, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and has published articles in Perspectives of New Music
Perspectives of New Music
Perspectives of New Music is a peer-reviewed, academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was founded in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz , making it the second-oldest music-theory journal now published in the United States .Perspectives was a Princeton-based journal...
, Indiana Theory Review
Indiana Theory Review
The Indiana Theory Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It began publication in 1977, under the auspices of graduate students in music theory at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, making it the second of the graduate-student produced...
, and the Nuova rivista musicale italiana.
Slater’s discovery in 1993 of the vocal nocturne tradition, and its influence on Mozart and Chopin are found in his seminal work Mozart and the Duetto Notturno Tradition, and his entry “Duetto Notturno” in The New Grove. His present musicological work on the influence of the vocal nocturne on Chopin's piano music continues that research.
Slater studied music and languages at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Harvard, and speaks, in addition to English, German, French and Italian. He was active as a music instructor in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and worked at the National Theatre Munich and La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
as a ballet pianist, performing numerous concerts.
In 1995, he was awarded a Ph. D. in musicology from Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
with a dissertation on Mozart’s opera Mitridate.
Presently, Slater has finished recordings featuring the music of Mozart and Chopin, and has completed the sequel to NightMusic, entitled Nocturne (based on rediscovered diaries related to Chopin). His research and writing of the unpublished monograph, “Mozart in Milan” continues and includes, "Mozart and Sacred Music in the Ambrosian Capital" and "Mozart's Singers in Ascanio in Alba," articles which incorporate two handwritten diaries from 1771 found by Slater in archives in Milan.
He resides in an historic apartment in Back Bay, Boston, as well as in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
.
Books
- Wignall, Harrison James, "In Mozart’s Footsteps", New York: Paragon House, 1991. ISBN 1-55778-494-9
- Slater, Harrison Gradwell, “NightMusic”, New York: Harcourt, 2002, hardcover. ISBN 0-15-100580-X
- Slater, Harrison Gradwell, “Night Music”, Penguin Putnam, 2003, softcover. ISBN 0-451-20972-9
- Slater, Harrison Gradwell, “Nocturne”, Editions Peabody Mason, 2010. ISBN 978-0-615-31304-7
- Slater, Harrison Gradwell, "Chopin and the Vocal Nocturne", Editions Peabody Mason, 2011. ISBN 978-0-615-46102-1
Articles
- "And Mozart Came In Search of Work", La Stampa, Year 130, No. 208, July 30, 1996
- "Mozart in Turin", Mozart Studien, 1997
- "Mozart and the 'Duetto Notturno' Tradition", Mozart-Jahrbuch, 1993
- "The Genesis of 'Se di Lauri'", Mozart Studien, 1994
- "Mozart's Imperial Opponent" (Italian and English), Nuova rivista musicale italiana, 1994
- "Mozart in Milan: Between Triumph and Disappointment", Mozartwoche und Salzburger Festpiele, 1997
- "Guglielmo d'Ettore: Mozart's First Mitridate", The Opera Quarterly, 1994
- "Rameau's Treatment of Suspensions", Indiana Theory Review, 1992
- "Current Trends in Italian Opera", Perspectives of New Music, 1991
- "Chickering's 'Old Ironsides'", Piano Quarterly, 1988
- "Behind Closed Doors", Keyboard Classics, 1987
- "The Development of Music in Boston, Part I: The Boston of Psalm-singers & Singing Schools", Massachusetts Music News, 1988
- "The Development of Music in Boston, Part II: Lowell Mason - A Sesquicentennial Perspective", Massachusetts Music News, 1988
- "The Development of Music in Boston, Part III: Pianos, Pedagogy & Performance", Massachusetts Music News, 1989
- "The Development of Music in Boston, Part IV: Chickering's Victory of the Ironclads", Massachusetts Music News, 1989
- "The Development of Music in Boston, Part V: A Taste for the Monumental", Massachusetts Music News, 1990
Recordings
- (2003) “NightMusic: Piano Music of Mozart”, Newton Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Rink, Conductor
- (2010) “Nocturne: Piano Music of Chopin”