Some Essential Books for the Collaborative Pianist

Note: This page will be updated fairly regularly as more books are added.

Diction

Colorni, Evelina, Singers' Italian. New York: Schirmer Books, 1970.

Grubb, Thomas, Singing in French: A Manual of French Diction and French Vocal Repertoire. New York: Schirmer Books, 1979.

Marshall, Madeleine, The Singer's Manual of English Diction. New York: Schirmer Books, 1953.

Odom, William, German for Singers: A Textbook of Diction and Phonetics. New York: Schirmer Books, 1981.

Opera and Art Song Translations and Guides

Bernac, Pierre, The Interpretation of French Song. Translation of Song Texts by Winifred Radford. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1970.

Bird, George, and Richard Stokes, trans. The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder. New York: Limelight Editions, 1984.

Castel, Nico. The Complete Puccini Libretti, Vol. I, II. Geneseo, Leyerle Publications.
_____. The Complete Verdi Libretti, Vol. I-III. Geneseo, Leyerle Publications.
_____. The Libretti of Mozart's Completed Operas, Vol. I, II. Geneseo: Leyerle Publications.
_____. French opera Libretti, Vol. I, II. Geneseo: Leyerle Publications.
_____. Italian Bel Canto Opera Libretti, Vol. I, II. Geneseo: Leyerle Publications.
_____. Italian Verismo Opera Libretti. Geneseo: Leyerle Publications.

(more information on the Nico Castel series)

Miller, Philip L., sel. and trans., The Ring of Words: An Anthology of Song Texts. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1963.

Shoep, Arthur, and Harris, Daniel, Word-by-Word Translations of Songs and Arias, Vol. I-IV. Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 1972.

Piano Playing

Bruser, Madeline, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart. New York: Bell Tower, 1999.

Chase, Mildred Portney, Just Being at the Piano. Berkeley: Creative Arts Book Company, 1985.

Poetry

Fussell, Paul, Poetic Meter & Poetic Form, revised edition. New York, Random House, 1979.

Hirsch, Edward, How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry. Fort Washington: Harvest Books, 1999.

Kinzie, Mary, A Poet's Guide to Poetry. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Professional Writing

Turabian, Kate L., A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.