I just returned from Italy, where I spent the year writing several new children's books and working on a new scholarly book about Jazz in Italy between the World Wars.

Events

Performance/Discussion: International Perspectives IN PLAY National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC 10/22/2011 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
OCTOBER 22, 2011 at the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
Enjoy a staged reading directed and curated by Professor Maya Roth, director of Georgetown University's Theater and Performance Studies program. Then, explore the ways social and cultural context influence an audience's reception of music and dance performances through a panel discussion moderated by Anna H. Celenza, Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music at Georgetown University, and featuring leaders from the music industry. Presented in partnership with Georgetown University's Department of Performing Arts. Free.

Click here for more information about International Perspectives IN PLAY.
Performance/Discussion: International Perspectives IN PLAY 10/22/2011 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Free. No reservations required.
Falla/Stravinsky -- Georgetown University and the Post-Classical Ensemble
FALLA/STRAVINSKY
December 3 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
December 4 at 2 p.m.
Georgetown University & Post-Classical Ensemble
FALLA/STRAVINSKY
Conducted by Angel Gil-Ordóñez
Dancers from Peridance Ensemble

El AMOR BRUJO by Manuel de Falla
Esperanza Fernandez, cantaora
Directed and choreographed by Igal Perry

A SOLDIER'S TALE by Igor Stravinsky
Actors from Georgetown University’s
Department of Performing Arts
Directed by Anna Harwell Celenza
Choreographed by Igal Perry

A double-bill featuring newly staged productions of two seminal music-theatre works from the early 20th-century, with the participation of the legendary Spanish cantaora Esperanza Fernandez and the master choreographer Igal Perry. Falla’s flamenco-infused El amor brujo is paired with a haunting new rendition of Stravinsky’s saga of Faustian temptation, A Soldier’s Tale. This event is a part of Falla/Stravinsky, presented by the Post-Classical Ensemble in collaboration with Georgetown University and the National Gallery of Art, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of Spain and Spain Arts & Culture.
Davis Performing Arts Center, Gonda Theatre
$25 GENERAL / $5 STUDENT
Pre-concert presentations one hour prior to performances with Antonio Muñoz Molina and Igal Perry.

CLICK HERE for more information and/​or tickets to FALLA/​STRAVINSKY

Selected Works

Children's Picture Books
Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite (2011)
An upbeat Christmas book about breaking boundaries and experimenting with new ideas. Includes a recording of Ellington’s suite. (Publishers Weekly). The Nutcracker Suite has never been so hip!
Bach's Goldberg Variations (2005)
Johann Sebastian Bach encourages Count Keyserlingk to take in a talented young orphan named Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. The Count is an insomniac, but hearing Goldberg play the harpsichord soothes him. Soon the Count challenges Goldberg to combine all the music he's learned and throw in a riddle. Under Bach's tutelage, Goldberg successfully plays a difficult piece that becomes known as Goldberg Variations. "[T]he story is wonderfully told in the tropes and manner of a folktale." — Booklist
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (2006)
It's 1924, and with just a few weeks' notice, George Gershwin has been asked to compose a new concerto that exemplifies American music. In his search for a new melody, Gershwin realizes that American music is much like its people -- a great melting pot of sounds, rhythms, and harmonies. JoAnn Kitchel's illustrations capture the 1920's in all their art-deco majesty.
The Heroic Symphony (2004)
When Beethoven learns he is going deaf, he is determined to write a great symphony. As war rages in Europe he thinks he has found his inspiration in the heroic deeds of Napoleon. But has he?
Pictures at an Exhibition (2003)
Modest Mussorgsky is deeply saddened by the death of his friend, Victor Hartmann. In his grief, Modest turns his back on his dream of bringing the glories of the Russian people to the world through his music. His friends must find a way to help Modest deal with the loss of Victor and inspire him to compose again. "[A] new gem for music lovers." — Booklist
The Farewell Symphony (2000)
A fictionalized telling of the true story behind Haydn's Farewell Symphony brings to life the long summer Haydn and his musicians spent at Esterhaza, the summer palace of Prince Nicholas of Esterhazy. When the musicians become homesick they devise a way to convince the prince it's time to go home.
Nonfiction, Music History
Hans Christian Andersen and Music: The Nightingale Revealed (2005)
“This is a tautly written, readable and fascinating volume, casting new light on familiar figures from start to finish.”
–Classical Music
The Early Works of Niels W. Gade: In Search of the Poetic (2001)
Niels W. Gade (1817-1890) was an influential musical figure in 19th century Denmark. This work presents an in-depth study in English of Gade's life and works. It describes the evolution of Gade's compositional style as reflected in his early orchestral and chamber works and re-evaluates his role as a nationalist composer. It investigates Gade's literary and musical roots, and studies Gade's "search for the poetic" by presenting descriptions of seven works represented in Gade's compositional diary.
Edited Book
Niels. W. Gade's St. Hans' Evening Play Overture (2001)
St. Hans' Evening Play is the second complete overture composed by Niels W. Gade (1817-90), undoubtedly the most prominent figure in nineteenth-century Danish music. This edition marks the first scholarly edition of this important work.

Quick Links

Anna Celenza's Webpage at Georgetown University
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