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J. B. Steane
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The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record First American Edition

by J. B. Steane (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
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The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record
The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record
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Before the gramophone could do justice to an orchestra, it was able to reproduce the human voice with comparative fidelity. Steane examines the great mass of singing on record and follows the fortunes of modern singers as well as old, in song, opera, and choral singing. This corrected second edition includes a preface and bibliography.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0684136341
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0684136349
  3. Edition
    First American Edition
  4. Publisher
    Macmillan Pub Co
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 1974
  6. Language
    English
  7. Print length
    628 pages
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Pub Co; First American Edition (January 1, 1974)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 628 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684136341
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684136349
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

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J. B. Steane

J. B. Steane

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5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Opera Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars Expertly written and a joy to read
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2015
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This is an outstanding book for those who want to learn about opera in the first half of the 20th Century. J.B. Steane is an excellent writer and he knows opera. While you might think that he is reviewing the individual recordings that is not the point of the book. It is a survey of all of the important singers and a critical review of how they did on their recordings. This book is not well known, but I think that it is essential if you are interested in opera from say 1930 to 1960. He covers the book end years as well. I have a large collection of recordings from this period, and Steane adds insight to all of the artists. He died in 2011 and left us this treasure to remember him by.
2 people found this helpful
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John A. Fanning
5.0 out of 5 stars Smart and savvy.
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2021
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Smart, interesting and something personal to say una way that was completely understandable. Whether you agreed with him or not; it was an involving and smart debate. Enjoyed this book immensely. It would have been a pleasure to know this writer, I’m thinking.
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Michael Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for lovers of singing
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2013
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Anyone who loves the art of fine singing should read this wonderful book which covers the years 1900-1970. Since that time, there have been of course some fine singers and singing, but I do believe that a decline set in during the 70s that has now become quite steep. We simply do not hear anymore in the opera house or concert hall singing of the quality which used to exist. More's the pity. but the author reveals all the marvelous recorded treasures that are out there. I urge those who love this art to purchase this book. You will not be sorry.
4 people found this helpful
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robert close
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2017
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great book
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Kindle Customer Abby
5.0 out of 5 stars Contents:
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2004
Part 1: The Golden Legend, Pre-Electrical Recording 1900-1925
The Old Order: Nineteenth-Century Echoes (Adelina Patti, Francesco Tamagno, Lilli Lehmann)
The Golden Age: Five Great Singers (Nellie Melba, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Fernando de Lucia, Mattia Battistine, Pol Plancon)
New Times, New Gods: The Changing Opera (Enrico Caruso, Titta Ruffo)
Good Deeds in a Naughty World: Lyricism Resistant (Lucrezia Bori, Alma Gluck, John McCormack, Alessandro Bonci, Giuesppe de Luca)
Coloratura: The Soprano as Virtuoso (Marcella Sembrich, Luisa Tetrazzine, Amelita Galli-Curci, Frieda Hempel, Selma Kurz, Margarethe Siems)
Approach to Wagner: Questions of Balance (emmy Destinn, Johanna Gadski, Jacques Urlus, Hermann Jadlowker)
Eastern Europe: A Cultural Exchange (Olimpia Boronat, Antonina Neshdanva, Dmitri Smirnoff, Feodor Chaliapin, Leff Sibiriakoff)
France: Years of Plenty (Emma Calve, Edmond Clement, Leon Escalais, Maurice Renard, Marcel Journet)
America: Talent and Training (Emma Eames, Geraldine Farrar, Frances Alda)
Italy: Bel Canto con Forza (Celestina Boninsegna, Salomea Krusceniski, Giuseppe Anselmi, Riccardo Stracciari, Pasquale Amato)
Part II: Decline and Survival, The Electrical 78 1925-1950
Decline: New Talents and Lost Discipline (Lily Pons, Aureliano Pertile)
Italy: A Handful of Exceptions (Toti dal Monte, Hina Spani, Tito Schipa, Benjamine Gigli, Renato Zanelli)
Around Italy: A Second Harvest (Lina Pagliughi, Magda Olivero, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Mariano Stabile, Tancredi Pasero)
Germany and Austria: Keepers of the Seal (Maria Ivogun, Meta Seinemeyer, Sigrid Onegin, Richard Tauber, Heinrich Schlusnus)
Lieder: More than Singing (Elisabeth Schumann, Lotte Lehmann, Elena Gerhardt, Karl Erb, herbert Janssen, Gerhard Husch, Alexander Kipnis)
Wagner: The Triumph of Lyricism (Frida Leider, Lauritz Melchior, Friedrich Schorr)
Splendid Isolationists: Standards in Britain and France (Florence Austral, Eva Turner, Claire Croiza, Ninon Vallin)
Old Worlds and New: Chicago and the Elevating Influence (Claudia Muzio, Dusolina Giannini, Conchita Supervia, Marian Anderson, Richard Crooks)
Metropolitan: Five Great Singers (Rosa Ponselle, Elisabeth Rethberg, Giovanni Martinelli, Lawrence Tibbett, Ezio Pinza)
Survival: Wartime and Aftermath (Helen Traubel, Maggie Teyte, Kathleen Ferrier, Julius Patzak, Mark Reizen)
Part III: Renaissance, The Long Plaing Record 1950-1970
Wagner: Every Note, Every Word (Kirsten Flagstad, Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick)
Trial by Mozart: Vintage Soprano (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried, Lisa della Casa, Hilde Guden, Ljuba Welitsch, Sena Jurinac)
Opera at Home: Five Great Singers (Maria Callas, Victoria de los Angeles, Jussi Bjorling, Tito Gobbi, Boris Christoff)
Let the Florid Music Praise: Rococo Revival (Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, Anna Moffo, Teresa Berganza, Marilyn Horne)
America: The Seal Goes West (Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, Jon Vickers, James McCracken, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill)
Italy: A Tale of Two Tableaux (Renata Tebaldi, Mirella Freni, Giulietta Simionato, Fiorenza Cossotto, Franco Corelli, Carlo Bergonzi, Giuseppe di Stefano, Luciano Pavarotti)
European Notes: Moscow to Madrid (Regine Crespin, Rita Gorr, Irene Arkhipova, Nicolai Gedda, Geraint Evans)
Singer and Song: An Exhibition of Artists (Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Peter Pears, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerard Souzay)
Ancient and Modern: The Singer as Musician
1971: Present and Prospective (Montserrat Caballe, Gundula Janowitz, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov
Conclusions: The Grand Tradition
Index of Composers
General Index
Bibliographical Note
The pictures are of the singers mentioned above.
15 people found this helpful
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Ivor E. Zetler
5.0 out of 5 stars encyclopedic and beautifully written book on singers
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2010
J.B. Steane has been writing on singing for longer than I can remember. There must be few people who have a more thorough knowledge of singers and their associated sound documentations over the total span of recorded history. In this book he examines seventy years of singers on record from 1900-1970. One of the chief pleasures of this book is Steane's stylish and supremely informed writing. He has a special ability to describe and quantify the qualities (positive and negative) of an individual voice. The recordings of a vast range of vocalists, familiar and obscure, are described. This book, probably better dipped into rather than digested in a bolus fashion, is one of the very best volumes available on singers and their art.
8 people found this helpful
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Letchhausen@operamail.com
5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand Experience
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 1999
I am saddened that this book is OP though perhaps a reprint is in the works. JBS from Gramaphone takes us on a tour of the history of recorded opera and lieder singing. His knowledge and enthusiasm lead me into a world of singing that I scarcely knew existed. His lucid style and comprehensive take on the records have had me buying and enjoying scores of CD's as an entire era has opened for me. I can't thank him enough for guiding me through the thicket of various recordings and providing insights that have deepened my understanding and enjoyment of singing. This exciting history has been a bedside favorite for years and I still turn to it when I see a new historical issue. Though the book covers singing up to more recent years, I may never make it to the 50's! Though the book could stand updating for current CD issues, it's not hard to translate dates of recordings to current issues. A tremendous acheivement. I could only wish for more, though I get that in his long running column in Gramaphone.
12 people found this helpful
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M.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible of Recorded Singing
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 1999
Anyone interested in opera and singing would appreciate this book. Steane is one of the greatest listeners around, and reading (and re-reading) his insights on these singers will make you a better listener too.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Edwin
5.0 out of 5 stars A must
Reviewed in Germany on June 4, 2021
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Magnificent !a delight for lovers of singing and full of information strongly recommended
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john wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars I COULDN'T BE MORE PLEASED
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2014
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I "lost" my copy some years ago, so it was good to find an affordable replacement copy. The description "near fine" , if anything erred on the side of caution: the book is in superb condition and receiving it was akin to welcoming an old friend whom one hadn't seen for yonks and who hasn't changed a bit.
Labelling and packing/packaging very good too and it arrived the day before the earliest estimate.
To cap it all, the price was very good.
I shall definitely be on the lookout for this seller when I next look to buy replacement or new-to-me out-of-print volumes.
One person found this helpful
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Felis
5.0 out of 5 stars I rate this highly although my copy was lost by the courier and so am still to purchase another!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2013
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The late John Steane was unsurpassed in writing about singers, and I would dearly love to own this book if I can buy it for an acceptable price. I will have to try again due to the first copy having gone walkies from the courier. The seller was good in refunding quickly once it was established that the package had been lost. I will try again.
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ronaldhutchison
5.0 out of 5 stars Years of pleasure to be had over the winter.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2014
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The bible of opera and song tihis book will take this reader years to study . Great for dipping into and tremendously envigorating to compair with ones own recordings.
2 people found this helpful
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long-distance shopper
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2016
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Quick dispatch; item as described
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