Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Fall 2019 61 REVIEWS organization founded by the Nazis to keep the Jewish citizens of Germany segregated from the rest of the population, while giving outsiders the impression they were being treated fairly. In Part Three Hirsch describes Landau's escape from Nazi Germany in 1939 via England and New York; she ultimately settled in southern California. In each place she stopped, Landau worked tirelessly to find a means of self-support. Despite many rejections, Landau never lost hope and remained determined in the face of many types of prejudice, even going so far as to rent her own studio in New York, giving public music lectures for an admission of eighty-five cents. Landau reached the final stop on her life's journey in 1944 in Los Angeles, to which Hirsch devotes Part Four of her book. The author describes the many contributions Landau made to the musical life of southern California in her position as music director for the Jewish Community Center, as well as the encouragement she gave to musicians in the early stages of their careers with her founding of the Musicians in the Making series. Hirsch describes Landau's ability to recognize real talent—pianist André Previn was the first winner, and subsequent awardees included Arnold Steinhardt, future member of the Guarneri Quartet, and virtuoso violinist Zina Schiff. Finally, Part Five recounts the conclusion of Landau's career and her legacy after she passed away in 1991. The reader comes away with a vivid picture of someone who faced many obstacles, but with tenacity and a healthy self-esteem managed to contribute much to the field of music. It is a shame that the name Anneliese Landau is not familiar to us now, but Lily Hirsch's book goes a long way to rectifying that. She reminds us that there are people whose contributions need to be remembered and celebrated, whether or not their names appear in music history texts. — Kathi Bower Peterson YEAR OF WONDER: CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR EVERY DAY by Clemency Burton-Hill, Headline, 2017. Do you like having a book with daily inspirational readings? How about one that features music? I have found the perfect book for that purpose, Year of Wonder. There is a page for each day of the year featuring a selection of music to listen to and clever, witty commentary about the music. Some of the selections are familiar composers and pieces. Many, though, are composers or titles I never would have known about without this book. For example, on April 7 the selection is Walking the Dog by George Gershwin from the movie "Shall We Dance" with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is a short, but charming and funny scene aboard a cruise ship, and the music fits perfectly. On May 19 is Symphony no. 1 in C Minor, 4: Allegro maestoso by Alice Mary Smith which "carries the estimable title of being the first symphony ever written by a British woman." Mary was 24 years old when she composed it in 1863. I have found every music selection on YouTube and sometimes with several different performers. It is highly entertaining and informative to listen to the music and read the commentary. Some pieces are long (15-30 min) and some very short. There is music from movies, musicals, classical, pop—countless different genres. Many are on the date of the composer's birthday or death or on the anniversary of the first performance, so there is a nice historical ambiance to it. This book provides a great way to increase your musical listening repertoire and have fun doing it. Linda Rolf is an initiate of the Delta Eta Chapter, past member of the Albuquerque Alumnae Chapter, and current Vice President, Ritual for the Denver Alumnae Chapter. She is a retired school library media specialist. THE ENCORE: A MEMOIR IN THREE ACTS Charity Tillemann-Dick, Atria Books, 2018. Do you like reading about a person who has overcome difficult chal- lenges in their life to reach a goal? Charity Tillemann-Dick is one of those amazing people and has written a memoir about her experiences. It is written in a style which would appeal greatly to musicians, as it has aspects of a musical score. Charity Tillemann-Dick was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. When she was five years old her mother took her to an opera perfor- mance of Hansel and Gretel. She was mesmer- ized by the music and drama of the opera and decided that she wanted to be a great opera singer. Charity devoted the rest of her life to that goal. Since she loves opera so much, Char- ity designed her book like an opera score with three Acts and Scenes taken from different operas. She chose scenes which corresponded with what was happening in her life at differ- ent times. If you listen to the book on CD you can hear her sing excerpts from these operas and listen as she narrates her book. Charity graduated from Regis University in Denver at age 18 with a degree in political science. She attended other universities, but her story really begins when she was studying

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