Kristen Turner
@kristenmturner.bsky.social
Mom of 3 grownups, musicologist, loves the archive and a good romantasy, almost done with The Operatic Kaleidoscope: Voice, Race, and the Ragtime Stage. Host of New Books in Music
Michael Broyles is one of the giants of American musicology. In this book, he breaks down important inflection points in US music -- jazz, rock & polkas? Here us talk about it on New Books in Music: newbooksnetwork.com/revolutions-...
June 21, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Michael Broyles is one of the giants of American musicology. In this book, he breaks down important inflection points in US music -- jazz, rock & polkas? Here us talk about it on New Books in Music: newbooksnetwork.com/revolutions-...
Gillian Rodger is the woman to go to for all things 19C sexuality & gender in mass culture. Champagne Charlie & Pretty Jemima is a history of Variety with a focus on class and gender/sexuality expression. Just One of the Boys is pretty great, too. It focuses on male impersonators
March 31, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Gillian Rodger is the woman to go to for all things 19C sexuality & gender in mass culture. Champagne Charlie & Pretty Jemima is a history of Variety with a focus on class and gender/sexuality expression. Just One of the Boys is pretty great, too. It focuses on male impersonators
Body Knowledge by Mary Simonson shows how women performers used the conventions, traditions, and techniques from multiple genres to construct their performances and images.
March 29, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Body Knowledge by Mary Simonson shows how women performers used the conventions, traditions, and techniques from multiple genres to construct their performances and images.
Changing the Score looks at how women shaped opera & their careers through their performance choices. Suitcase arias may seem idiosyncratic today, but Poriss shows that the practice of interpolation was central to how opera worked in the 19C & made women powerful cultural actors.
March 27, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Changing the Score looks at how women shaped opera & their careers through their performance choices. Suitcase arias may seem idiosyncratic today, but Poriss shows that the practice of interpolation was central to how opera worked in the 19C & made women powerful cultural actors.
May Irwin was a suffragist, lyricist, businesswoman, comedian & singer. But, her career rested on her performance of racist ragtime songs. Sharon Ammen tells Irwin's story & explains how this huge star's success perpetuated the worst of ideas of segregated America
March 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
May Irwin was a suffragist, lyricist, businesswoman, comedian & singer. But, her career rested on her performance of racist ragtime songs. Sharon Ammen tells Irwin's story & explains how this huge star's success perpetuated the worst of ideas of segregated America
Denise Von Glahn focuses on the "polyphony" of Libby Larsen's music, career, and life. Von Glahn writes about the most important influences on Larsen's life: family, religion, nature, the academy, new musical technologies, her experiences as a woman, & Larsen's rich collaborations.
March 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Denise Von Glahn focuses on the "polyphony" of Libby Larsen's music, career, and life. Von Glahn writes about the most important influences on Larsen's life: family, religion, nature, the academy, new musical technologies, her experiences as a woman, & Larsen's rich collaborations.
Jennifer Ronyak's book considers Lieder as the outward expression of inwardly facing ideas. She contextualizes Lieder within German philosophies of the self and interiority in art while including women's contributions to the genre as performers, intellectuals, salon hostesses, and composers.
March 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Jennifer Ronyak's book considers Lieder as the outward expression of inwardly facing ideas. She contextualizes Lieder within German philosophies of the self and interiority in art while including women's contributions to the genre as performers, intellectuals, salon hostesses, and composers.
From Servant to Savant considers the roots of our concepts of music as intellectual property and a valuable commodity. Geoffroy-Schwinden shows how commodification of music was part of the political and cultural agendas of post-Revolution France.
March 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
From Servant to Savant considers the roots of our concepts of music as intellectual property and a valuable commodity. Geoffroy-Schwinden shows how commodification of music was part of the political and cultural agendas of post-Revolution France.
@lauronkehrer.bsky.social's Queer Voices in Hip Hop traces the history of queer and trans communities and performers in hip hop from its roots in disco & house music to bounce.
March 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
@lauronkehrer.bsky.social's Queer Voices in Hip Hop traces the history of queer and trans communities and performers in hip hop from its roots in disco & house music to bounce.
Glenda Goodman's Cultivated by Hand examines handcopied music manuscript books made in 18th century America by a handful of amateur musicians. I have never read a book that treats its subject with such care without ever flinching from some of the ugly truths embedded in the topic.
March 19, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Glenda Goodman's Cultivated by Hand examines handcopied music manuscript books made in 18th century America by a handful of amateur musicians. I have never read a book that treats its subject with such care without ever flinching from some of the ugly truths embedded in the topic.
Bonny Miller is an indepedent scholar. Her biography of Augusta Browne is a thoughtful exploration of a multi-talented woman who defied 19C expectations, but also lived with sexism that marginalized her in life & erased her in death.
March 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Bonny Miller is an indepedent scholar. Her biography of Augusta Browne is a thoughtful exploration of a multi-talented woman who defied 19C expectations, but also lived with sexism that marginalized her in life & erased her in death.
Alexandra Apollini's Freedom Girls is about how British pop singers defined and subverted ideas about femininity. She examines a variety of singers from Dusty Springfield to Millie Small. She introduced me to a lot of singers who were new to me, but my favorite was Marianne Faithfull.
March 17, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Alexandra Apollini's Freedom Girls is about how British pop singers defined and subverted ideas about femininity. She examines a variety of singers from Dusty Springfield to Millie Small. She introduced me to a lot of singers who were new to me, but my favorite was Marianne Faithfull.
The Elocutionists by
@mwilsonkimber.bsky.social is a fascinating study of an artform that is now almost forgotten but was once a major force in US entertainment & movement training. She balances insightful analysis with entertaining biographies & stories of the women who led the industry.
@mwilsonkimber.bsky.social is a fascinating study of an artform that is now almost forgotten but was once a major force in US entertainment & movement training. She balances insightful analysis with entertaining biographies & stories of the women who led the industry.
March 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The Elocutionists by
@mwilsonkimber.bsky.social is a fascinating study of an artform that is now almost forgotten but was once a major force in US entertainment & movement training. She balances insightful analysis with entertaining biographies & stories of the women who led the industry.
@mwilsonkimber.bsky.social is a fascinating study of an artform that is now almost forgotten but was once a major force in US entertainment & movement training. She balances insightful analysis with entertaining biographies & stories of the women who led the industry.
Dana Gorzelany-Mostak's trenchant analysis of music used in presidential campaigns in Tracks on the Trail is a must read. She also maintains 2 great sites for info. on campaign songs: www.songsofpoliticalpersuasion.com for 1840-1913 & www.traxonthetrail.com for recent campaigns.
March 14, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Dana Gorzelany-Mostak's trenchant analysis of music used in presidential campaigns in Tracks on the Trail is a must read. She also maintains 2 great sites for info. on campaign songs: www.songsofpoliticalpersuasion.com for 1840-1913 & www.traxonthetrail.com for recent campaigns.
Resonant Recoveries by @musicolojill.bsky.social is the story of how music was part of coping with trauma after WWI in France. She reminds us that art can be a space of caring, love, and joy in the midst of difficult journeys--something that we all could use right now.
March 13, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Resonant Recoveries by @musicolojill.bsky.social is the story of how music was part of coping with trauma after WWI in France. She reminds us that art can be a space of caring, love, and joy in the midst of difficult journeys--something that we all could use right now.
Kitty Preston's Opera for the People is a massive book based on the impeccable archival research that she is known for. She shows that women's business acumen & artistic management were at the heart of the opera industry in 19C America.
March 12, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Kitty Preston's Opera for the People is a massive book based on the impeccable archival research that she is known for. She shows that women's business acumen & artistic management were at the heart of the opera industry in 19C America.
Imitation Artist by Sunny Stalter-Pace is a fascinating biography of Gertrude Hoffman. She was a dancer who made her name on the popular stage by imitating other famous people, but she was also a choreographer and producer in her own right.
March 12, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Imitation Artist by Sunny Stalter-Pace is a fascinating biography of Gertrude Hoffman. She was a dancer who made her name on the popular stage by imitating other famous people, but she was also a choreographer and producer in her own right.
My Old Kentucky Home by Emily Bingham is a biography of the Foster minstrel song. She shows how the cultural meaning of the song shifted over time from its roots in minstrelsy through Lost Cause nostalgia to folk song status.
March 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
My Old Kentucky Home by Emily Bingham is a biography of the Foster minstrel song. She shows how the cultural meaning of the song shifted over time from its roots in minstrelsy through Lost Cause nostalgia to folk song status.
Teaching Stravinsky by @ladymusicdoctor.bsky.social is partly a biography of Nadia Boulanger, but also the reconstruction of a relationship between Boulanger & Stravinsky. It demolishes the "lone genius" myth and shows how all music is shaped by more than just the composer.
March 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Teaching Stravinsky by @ladymusicdoctor.bsky.social is partly a biography of Nadia Boulanger, but also the reconstruction of a relationship between Boulanger & Stravinsky. It demolishes the "lone genius" myth and shows how all music is shaped by more than just the composer.
Opera for Everyone by Megan Steigerwald Ille is an exploration of the Industry, an adventurous LA opera co. She spent years interviewing members of the co. & sitting in on rehearals which adds texture and depth to this study of opera on the edge.
March 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Opera for Everyone by Megan Steigerwald Ille is an exploration of the Industry, an adventurous LA opera co. She spent years interviewing members of the co. & sitting in on rehearals which adds texture and depth to this study of opera on the edge.
T.O.B.A. Time by @drmrscot1.bsky.social is a history of vaudeville in Black-serving spaces. She looks at the triumphs of Black entertainers as well as the challenges posed by systemic racism. It's a must read for anyone studying entertainment in the US before WWII.
March 6, 2025 at 4:25 PM
T.O.B.A. Time by @drmrscot1.bsky.social is a history of vaudeville in Black-serving spaces. She looks at the triumphs of Black entertainers as well as the challenges posed by systemic racism. It's a must read for anyone studying entertainment in the US before WWII.
Elizabeth T. Craft's study of George M. Cohan focuses on major aspects of his work including his construction of "regular guy" American identity and (my favorite chapter) how he negotiated the business of Broadway and wrote that into his songs.
March 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Elizabeth T. Craft's study of George M. Cohan focuses on major aspects of his work including his construction of "regular guy" American identity and (my favorite chapter) how he negotiated the business of Broadway and wrote that into his songs.
Monica Hershberger's Women in American Operas of the 1950s delves into how lead women characters in a handful of key American operas reflect (or don't) the whore/virgin archetypes & the influence of the sopranos who premiered the roles. Her sensitive handling of SA in these works is superb.
March 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Monica Hershberger's Women in American Operas of the 1950s delves into how lead women characters in a handful of key American operas reflect (or don't) the whore/virgin archetypes & the influence of the sopranos who premiered the roles. Her sensitive handling of SA in these works is superb.
Eileen Southern's magisterial Music of Black Americans builds on the work of Maud Cuney-Hare & others. Years after its publication, it's still my first port of call when I need to know something about Black musicians in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
March 3, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Eileen Southern's magisterial Music of Black Americans builds on the work of Maud Cuney-Hare & others. Years after its publication, it's still my first port of call when I need to know something about Black musicians in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Kurt Weill's America by @whatsoperadoc.bsky.social explores Weill's ideas about America and what it meant to be an American in the shows he wrote after he fled Nazi Germany. She reminds us that immigrants have always transformed US culture in wonderful & sometimes unexpected ways.
March 3, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Kurt Weill's America by @whatsoperadoc.bsky.social explores Weill's ideas about America and what it meant to be an American in the shows he wrote after he fled Nazi Germany. She reminds us that immigrants have always transformed US culture in wonderful & sometimes unexpected ways.