Juilliard: A History (Music in American Life)

Juilliard: A History (Music in American Life) by Olmstead, Andrea. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780252024870.

Richard Rodgers. Miles Davis. Van Cliburn. Itzhak Perlman. Robin Williams, Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone. Mandy Patinkin. For over a century, Juilliard has trained the artists who compose the elite of the performing arts in the United States. Andrea Olmsteads eye-opening history of the conservatory takes readers into the practice rooms, studios, and offices of the world-famous music school and its sister institutions teaching drama and dance. Olmsteads in-depth interviews from across the Julliard community combine with unprecedented access to the schools archives to reveal the schools private side. As she tracks the institution through its various incarnations, Olmstead looks at the accomplishments and foibles of Julliards leaders and the white-hot controversies surrounding events like Augustus Juilliards multi- million-dollar bequest in 1919 and the schools expensive move to the Lincoln Center complex. Throughout, she provides vivid accounts of power-brokering, arrogance, intimidation, secrecy, and infighting balanced against the vision, dedication, talent, and determination of generations of gifted teachers, students, and administrators.