Harrison Slater

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Harrison Slater

Harrison Gradwell Slater Wignall was an American writer, pianist, and educator. Born Harry James Wignall in New Bedford, Mass., he lived in New Bedford while his father, a US Army officer, was a prisoner of war for three years, held by the Communist Chinese in North Korea. In his youth Harry lived for four years in Mannheim and Frankfurt, Germany while his father was stationed with the US Army Northern Army Command. He graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mt. Holly, NJ. He changed his name circa the publication of his first book to Harrison Gradwell Slater.

A pianist, he studied with

Paderewski. In addition to writing and recording, Slater coached many world-class pianists, and served as chairman and Artistic Director of the Peabody Mason International Piano Competition
.

Biography

Harrison Gradwell Slater Wignall combined the careers of musicologist, pianist and novelist. He has published three books on

Chopin
's biography and music within a contemporary narrative.

For his first book, Slater (the author's pen name since 1995) traveled to fifty-five cities in nine European countries and completed his research over three years with correspondence to archives throughout Europe, always posing unresolved questions about Mozart Gedenkstaetten – the palaces, concert halls and salons in which Mozart performed, the houses and taverns in which he lodged, and the churches and public edifices that he visited. The resulting reference book, In Mozart's Footsteps,

Nicholas Slonimsky described it as "absorbing in its brilliance".[4]

NightMusic was voted "Rising Star of 2003" by nine publishing houses, was on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list for mystery trade paperback for nineteen weeks and was optioned for a film.

Scholarly articles by Slater (a.k.a. Harrison James Wignall) have appeared in the journals Mozart-Jahrbuch,

Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart,[10] The New Grove Dictionary of Opera[11] and has published articles in Perspectives of New Music,[12] Indiana Theory Review,[13] and the Nuova rivista musicale italiana.[14]

Slater's discovery in 1993 of the vocal nocturne tradition, and its influence on Mozart and Chopin are found in his seminal work Mozart and the Duetto Notturno Tradition,[15] and his entry "Duetto Notturno" in The New Grove.[15] His present musicological work on the influence of the vocal nocturne on Chopin's piano music continues that research.

Slater accepted a full academic scholarship to Boston University, where he graduated first in his class, Bachelor magna cum laude, 1972, followed by a Master of Arts, Boston University, 1987 and a certified advisory study, Harvard University, 1987. In 1995, he was awarded a PhD in musicology from

Mitridate.[16]

Slater worked in various music capacities: a music theory instructor at Massasoit Community College, Brockton, Massachusetts, 1975–1980; music specialist, Munich (Germany) International School, 1980–1982, and International School of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, 1984–1985; ballet pianist, National Theatre, Munich, 1982–1984; and as a ballet pianist at La Scala, Milan, 1985–1986. He performed numerous concerts during this period. He was a member of the American Musicological Society, Society Music Theory, Harvard Club, and Phi Beta Kappa.

Slater studied music and languages at

National Theatre Munich and La Scala
in Milan as a ballet pianist, performing numerous concerts.

Slater finished recordings featuring the music of Mozart[17] and Chopin,[18] and has completed the sequel to NightMusic,[1] entitled Nocturne[2] (based on rediscovered diaries related to Chopin). His research and writing of the unpublished monograph, "Mozart in Milan" continues and includes, "Mozart and Sacred Music in the Ambrosian Capital" and "Mozart's Singers in Ascanio in Alba," articles which incorporate two handwritten diaries from 1771 found by Slater in archives in Milan.

He resided in an historic apartment in

Mount Holly Township, New Jersey.[19]

He died on April 6, 2017, in Mt. Holly, NJ at the age of 66.

Works

Books

Articles

  • "And Mozart Came In Search of Work", La Stampa, Year 130, No. 208, July 30, 1996
  • "Mozart in Turin", Mozart Studien, 1997
  • "Mozart and the 'Duetto Notturno' Tradition", Mozart-Jahrbuch, 1993
  • "The Genesis of 'Se di Lauri'", Mozart Studien, 1994
  • "Mozart's Imperial Opponent" (Italian and English), Nuova rivista musicale italiana, 1994
  • "Mozart in Milan: Between Triumph and Disappointment", Mozartwoche und Salzburger Festpiele, 1997
  • "Guglielmo d'Ettore: Mozart's First Mitridate", The Opera Quarterly, 1994
  • "Rameau's Treatment of Suspensions", Indiana Theory Review, 1992
  • "Current Trends in Italian Opera", Perspectives of New Music, 1991
  • "Chickering's 'Old Ironsides'", Piano Quarterly, 1988
  • "Behind Closed Doors", Keyboard Classics, 1987
  • "The Development of Music in Boston, Part I: The Boston of Psalm-singers & Singing Schools", Massachusetts Music News, 1988
  • "The Development of Music in Boston, Part II: Lowell Mason – A Sesquicentennial Perspective", Massachusetts Music News, 1988
  • "The Development of Music in Boston, Part III: Pianos, Pedagogy & Performance", Massachusetts Music News, 1989
  • "The Development of Music in Boston, Part IV: Chickering's Victory of the Ironclads", Massachusetts Music News, 1989
  • "The Development of Music in Boston, Part V: A Taste for the Monumental", Massachusetts Music News, 1990

Recordings

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-15-100580-X
    .
  2. ^ a b Slater, Harrison Gradwell, Nocturne, Editions Peabody Mason, 2010
  3. ^ Wignall, Harrison James, In Mozart's Footsteps, New York: Paragon House, 1991
  4. ^ a b Ibid., Jacket inscription
  5. ^ "Mozart and the 'Duetto Notturno' Tradition", Mozart-Jahrbuch, 1993
  6. ^ "Guglielmo d'Ettore: Mozart's First Mitridate", The Opera Quarterly, 1994
  7. ^ "Mozart in Turin", Mozart Studien, 1997
  8. ^ "The Genesis of 'Se di Lauri'", Mozart Studien, 1994
  9. ^ "Duetto Notturno", The New Grove, 2000
  10. ^ Guglielmo d'Ettore, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 2000
  11. ^ Guglielmo d'Ettore, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, 1997
  12. ^ "Current Trends in Italian Opera", Perspectives of New Music, 1991
  13. ^ "Rameau's Treatment of Suspensions", Indiana Theory Review, 1992
  14. ^ "Mozart's Imperial Opponent" (Italian and English), Nuova rivista musicale italiana, 1994
  15. ^ a b Op. Cit.
  16. ^ Mozart, Guglielmo d'Ettore and the Genesis of Mitridate, Brandeis University, 1995
  17. ^ (2003) "NightMusic: Piano Music of Mozart", Newton Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Rink, Conductor
  18. ^ (2010) "Nocturne: Piano Music of Chopin"
  19. ^ Boatman, Gail T. "Mount Holly native makes a little 'NightMusic'", Burlington County Times, April 29, 2003. Accessed March 1, 2011. "A musicologist turned mystery writer, Mount Holly native Harrison Slater feels right at home in the world of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I am an 18th-century person, he said during a recent telephone interview from Boston, where he lives part of the year."

Sources

External links

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