In Review

Books

Singing Sappho: Improvisation and Authority in Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera
Melina Esse, an associate professor of musicology at the Eastman School of Music, explores the connections between operatic and poetic improvisation in 19th-century Italian opera, demonstrating that performance played a much larger role in the concept of musical authorship than previously recognized. (University of Chicago Press)

An A to W of Academic Literacy: Key Concepts and Practices for Graduate Students
Mary Jane Curry, an associate professor in teaching and curriculum at the Warner School of Education, and her doctoral student coauthors Weijia Li, Ting Zhang, and Yanhong Zuo, explore 65 common academic literacy terms, their definitions, and their relationships to genres, writing conventions, and language use. (University of Michigan Press)

Memories from the Microphone: A Century of Baseball Broadcasting
Curt Smith, a senior lecturer in English at Rochester and the author of multiple books on politics and baseball, commemorates 100 years of baseball broadcasting on radio and television, “recalling the great announcers from Mel Allen to Vin Scully who have carried baseball to every corner of the nation‐unfolding era by era, the history of the game and wider culture.” (Mango Publishing)

Aging and Social Policy in the United States
Nancy Kusmaul ’99, an associate professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, examines the issues facing older adults and their families through local, state, federal, and international policy lenses. (Cognella)

Chartography‐Reinvented Transcriptions
Legendary bassist Ron Carter ’59E, ’10 (Honorary) explores the making of great bass lines, through a look at the evolution of the bass line in five performances of “Autumn Leaves” by Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet from 1963 to 1967. (Retrac Productions)

End of an Era: Diverse Thoughts from 100+ Years of Living
John Manhold ’41, who turned 100 in August 2019, shares perspectives gleaned from his youth in Rochester, service in World War II and the Korean War, as witness to the early days of modern dentistry, as participant in its development as a dental researcher and pathologist, and from time as a sculptor and shooter. (Newman Springs Publishing)

In the Footsteps of Mozart’s Clarinetist: Anton Stadler (1753–1812)
Pamela Poulin ’72E, ’83E (PhD), a professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory of Music, offers an in-depth study of Viennese clarinetist Stadler as well as his friendship with Mozart, which led to Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, K. 622 and Quintet, K. 581, written for Stadler’s unique basset clarinet. (Pendragon Press)

Movers & Mentors: Leaders in Movement Science Share Tips, Tactics, and Stories
Bryan Guzski ’19S (MS), ’21S (MBA), an outpatient orthopaedic physical therapist at the Medical Center’s Sports and Spine Rehabilitation Center, coedits a compilation of stories and advice from leaders in the fields of physical therapy and movement science. The book is intended to “provide personal and professional guidance for the next generation of rehabilitation professionals.” (Independently published)

Trade Secrets: A Life in and Around Museums
In a memoir of her 50 years as a museum educator and director and as an exhibit planning consultant, Alice Parman ’64 tells stories from “behind the scenes at Field Museum, of sparring with Muhammad Ali, and more.” (Blurb)

How to Write and Sell Simple Information for Fun and Profit (Second Edition)
Robert Bly ’79 offers an updated edition of the book subtitled Your Guide to Writing and Publishing Books, E-Books, Articles, Special Reports, Audios, Videos, Membership Sites, and Other How-To Content. (Quill Driver Books). Bly also recently published The Axioms of Marketing (Kallisti).

The Worm Family Has Its Picture Taken
Jennifer Frank ’93 presents a picture book, in which “the Worm family finds its own way to shine” in its family portrait. The book is illustrated by Caldecott honoree David Ezra Stein and is a Junior Library Guild selection. (Anne Schwartz Books/Random House)

Ripped Off! Overtested, Overtreated, and Overcharged
Gilbert Simon ’62M (MD) draws on his half-century experience as a primary care doctor to critique the ways in which “the corporate takeover of medicine created a costly, bloated, complex, profit-driven bureaucracy.” (Value-Based Healthcare LLC)

Alliterative Animals: A to Z
Educator and Head Start mental health consultant Virginia S. V. Gonsalves-Domond and Isabel Murphy ’22 (illustrator) offer a colorful picture book to enchant children with the spoken word and the world of animals. (Dorrance Publishing)

Hunting the Northwest: Stories with Family and Friends in the Outdoors
Patrick Simning ’81, ’82 presents a collection of “unembellished accounts of fun, quirky, and challenging events that frequently arise while hunting.” The stories convey love and respect for the outdoors, land, animals, camaraderie, and the challenge of reaching beyond self-imposed limits. (Patrick Simning)

Styled for Murder
In book 17 of the Bad Hair Day mystery series by Nancy Cohen ’70, ’70N, hairstylist and sleuth Marla Vail is on the case when a murder disrupts her mother’s home renovation. (Orange Grove Press)

Revolutionary Girl
Charles Courtsal ’89M (MD), ’92M (Res) tells the story of his ancestor Elizabeth Wilson, who served as a spy for Gen. George Washington at the start of the American Revolution. Suitable for fifth-graders and up, the book adheres closely to the story told in the Wilson family’s diary, written in 1886, and includes a family tree and links to the diary. (NFB Publishing)

Understanding and Combating Racism: My Path from Oblivious American to Evolving Activist
W. E. (Bill) Wynne ’89S (MBA) traces his journey from white “obliviousness” to antiracist activism, showing how he developed his commitment to racial and social justice and how others can evolve as antiracists. (PathBinder Publishing)

Looking for Marianne
A woman disappears, leaving a husband and two children behind, in a mystery by Ron Iannone ’64W (MA) set in Skaneateles, New York. (Destination Press)

The Top Octave Book: Playing with Artistry for Flute or Piccolo
Patricia George ’64E, ’65E (MM) presents “a methodical approach to playing with control and artistry in the third register.” George is editor of Flute Talk magazine and cofounder of Fabulous Flute Music Company. (Theodore Presser)

Recordings

Distant Places
Composer and percussionist Tom Nazziola ’88E offers a musical depiction of “outward curiosity and internal exploration” as well as his own memories and experiences, including during his “formative college years” at Eastman. The recording includes “Cat and Mouse,” nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award in the category Best Instrumental Composition. Performing on the recording are John Hollenbeck ’90E, ’91E (MM), Gregg August ’87E, Dan Willis ’90E, Terry Goss ’88E, and Greg Chudzik ’06E. (Goju Records)

Beethoven’s Last Three Piano Sonatas
Young Hyun Cho ’08E (DMA), an associate professor of piano at Michigan State University, performs Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas in her debut recording. (Sony Classical)

Time Travelers
Saxophonist and composer Rick DiMuzio ’89E (MM) performs nine original compositions. DiMuzio is a professor at Berklee College of Music. (Rick DiMuzio)

Life (and Love)
Mezzo-soprano Alta Boover ’02E (MM) and pianist Tian Tian ’12E (DMA) perform Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben and Sara Carina Graef’s A Woman’s Life (and Love). (Centaur Records)

Freshies
Guitarist and composer Jono Kornfeld ’92 presents an EP with his funk/jazz group Hop Sauce. Kornfeld is chair of the guitar department at the San Francisco Community Music Center and teaches music theory at San Francisco State University. (Self-published)

New to You
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Beth Meyers ’00E, ’00, ’02E (MM) presents her second recording as part of the indie-neo-folk duo Damsel, with Monica Mugan. Meyers performs on viola, vocals, banjo, and ukulele. (Damsel)

Alchemy
Composer and percussionist Baljinder Sekhon ’13E (PhD) presents works for saxophone performed by Doug O’Connor ’12E (DMA). The recording grows out of a decade-long collaboration. (Innova Recordings)

Electric Campfire
Guitarists Garrett Mader ’19E and Blake Pattengale ’18E perform their debut EP as part of the Rochester-based electro-folk group Two Truths. (Self-published)