Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Spring 2022 25 Reviews THE HEART OF A WOMAN: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF FLORENCE B. PRICE By Rae Linda Brown University of Illinois Press, 2020 L ong-neglected as a composer, Florence Price (1887- 1953), the first African-American woman to have a work performed by a major orchestra, is finally getting the recognition she deserves, and the publication of Rae Linda Brown's book is part of this larger movement to spotlight her music. Brown was not only the first to "rediscover" Price (she has been the subject of Brown's research since the 1980s), but the first scholar to author a book that documents and preserves Price's legacy. Although Brown passed away in 2017 before publication of this book, it remains as a testament to her dedication and persistence in documenting the musical contributions of the singularly gifted Florence Price. As Brown states in her "Sources" section at the beginning of the book, reconstructing the life of composer Florence Price presented many challenges. She was an extremely private, reserved person, and left behind little material evidence of her life other than her music. Much of what can be ascertained about her comes from newspaper clippings and various archival sources, aside from a scant few examples of written correspondence. Brown has done an exemplary job, however, of using what little is available to extrapolate the details and events of Price's life. From her birth in Little Rock, AR, through her time as a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, her teaching experiences, growth as a composer, and her later accomplishments, Brown relates in meticulous detail the cultural context for each phase of Price's life. The reader is provided a remarkably vivid picture of Price's struggles as a woman and person of color to achieve and find success as a composer of symphonic music. The book also includes several chapters devoted to an in-depth analysis of Price's works, including her Symphony in E Minor, Piano Concerto in One Movement, and Symphony No. 3. The musical analysis is comprehensive, and also explores the music that influenced Price, yet it is written in such a way as to be accessible to readers who do not have a music theory background. Brown also discusses audience reception to Price's music and details the honors and recognition she achieved during her lifetime. The book includes an extensive discography of recordings, in which it is encouraging to see some very recent additions; Price's music is gaining a new appreciation and new audiences will have the opportunity to at last hear the beautiful, engaging music of Florence B. Price. Kathi Bower Peterson is a graduate of Indiana University, where she majored in music history and oboe, and was a member of Iota Epsilon chapter. She also has an MM (in musicology) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MLIS from San Jose State University. She has been the librarian at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla, California since 1997 and currently serves as the treasurer of the San Diego County Alumnae Chapter, as well as the Coordinator of Scholarships for SAI Philanthropies, Inc. THE LOST PIANOS OF SIBERIA By Sophy Roberts Grove Press, 2021 M usic has the power to enrich lives, even those most burdened with challenges, and in Sophy Roberts' evocative travelogue, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, she explores how pianos have made life in remote Siberia a little more bearable to its inhabitants. Inspired by her friendship with Mongolian concert pianist Odgerel Sampilnorov, Roberts sets out to locate both historical and modern instruments; her objective is not fixed but remains open to where happenstance leads her. Long associated with exile and punishment, the Siberia Roberts discovers is forbidding and brutal, yet possesses artistic oases. `The book is organized into three sections based on three historical periods: "Pianomania, 1762-1917"; "Broken Chords, 1917-1991"; and "Goodness Knows Where, 1992-Present Day." Within each of these chronological designations, chapters are focused on specific cities or geographical areas in the region, including remote parts that are difficult to access. Maps showing each area she visits are helpfully included with the text, enabling the reader to see just how vast Siberia is. From the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, with Mongolia and the Arctic as northern and southern borders, the terrain Roberts explores covers thousands of miles and is populated with both indigenous and transplanted inhabitants. Most of Roberts' travels are conducted during the coldest times of year instead of the few brief months of warmth, due to her severe allergic response to the large population of mosquitos present during that time, so the frigid weather adds to her challenges. Roberts begins her book with a beautiful exploration of the concept of Siberia, then gives some historical background about pianos in the Russia of the Tsars. She learns about the role pianos played in making life in the gulags slightly more bearable, and the effect of the Revolution and establishment of the Soviet Union on piano culture. Lastly, she examines the culture of recent decades and the decline of the piano's prominence in everyday life. Along the way, she meets composers, performers, tuners, restorers, and regular people. She ends up spending some of her time chasing phantom pianos, but never considers it wasted energy. In the end, some of the instruments she does locate include a nineteenth-century Stürzwage; an 1850s Ibach that had travelled the length of Siberia to Kamchatka, a peninsula on the Pacific Ocean; a 1930s Grotrian-Steinweg; and many others in various conditions, with individual histories both significant and mundane. In addition, she highlights the restoration of the Grotrian-Steinweg into a performing instrument for Odgerel Sampilnorov. A website that accompanies the book (www. lostpianosofsiberia.com) features recordings of Sampilnorov performing on this piano some pieces by John Field, and Mongolian composers Ulziibayar Shatar and Jantsannorov Natsag; the music is beautiful and haunting. Roberts' writing is engaging, with the power to make readers feel present with her during her travels. Anyone seeking inspiring writing and a fascinating look at an unknown world will not be disappointed. — KBP

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