Frank Carlson Library

"A family secret revealed 40 years ago by a grandmother to her grandson is now an acclaimed Russian historical fiction novel. "A Hundred Sweet Promises" is the tale of the author's grandfather, Nasrosoltan, a famed composer, who on the eve of World War I travels from Persia to Russia to study classical music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with such masters as Rimsky-Korsakov. While there, Nasrosoltan falls in love with a Romanov princess, but...

Like any older sibling, Nannerl Mozart got to do things first and her younger brother, Wolfgang, wanted to be just like her. She played harpsichord, composed music, and even toured Europe to play concerts. Once Wolfie joined them, and she grew into her teens, her father insisted she stay home and become a wife -- married to a man with no love of music. "I Am Mozart, Too is a picture book biography about Wolfgang's older sister, Maria Anna Mozart,...

When singer, musician, and broadcast journalist Malka Marom had the opportunity to interview Joni Mitchell in 1973, she was eager to reconnect with the performer she'd first met late one night in 1966 at a Yorkville coffeehouse. More conversations followed over the next four decades of friendship, and it was only after Joni and Malka completed their last recorded interview, in 2012, that Malka discovered the heart of their discussions: the creative...

Gives a short history of music in Russia and briefly describes the lives and music of seventeen Russian composers, from Glinka to Shostakovich.