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Long-Haired Iopas: Old Chapters from Twenty-Five Years of Music-Criticism

1927

Edward Prime-Stevenson

Florence : by the press of "The Italian Mail"

American

Nonfiction

426pp

Queer Theory, Uranian, Nonfiction, Gay Men

Open Access

We listen to your re-incarnations, night by night, in our lyrics halls and our drawing-rooms; more or less with at least an aural deference to such successors, who so often, by their learning in suffering, are trying to teach us something in song.

Summary

A collection of updated and new musical criticism, essays, and related literature. Privately printed in 133 numbered and signed copies. The copy I referenced from the New York Public Library is number 96.

More Info

  • "Overture"

  • "('As If......')"

  • "Long-Haired Iopas: A Reconstruction"


Dedicated to Harry Harkness Flagler. A character study of Iopas from Vergil's Aeneid, and, by extension, a celebration and analysis of all musicians.


  • "After Hearing 'Don Giovanni'"

  • "Four Musical Sons Of Vienna"

  • "Prince Bedr's Quest"


Dedicated to Mary Severn Perry. A narrative interpretation of Beethoven's 9th symphony shared between an unnamed speaker and his friend Oswald—almost certainly referring to the protagonists of Imre: A Memorandum (1906). Prince Bedr of Persia believes he is in possession of complete happiness until a dervish encourages him to seek true happiness. Bedr journeys to find the answer—seeing happiness in life, nature, companionship, and the love of a princess—but is finally guided to the truth: God as the source of existence and tandem joy in all the universe. 


  • "(On the Nibelungen Tetralogy: I-II)"

  • "Wagner As Fabulist And Realist"


Originally published as "Wagner as Fabulist and Realist" (Feb 22, 1900) in The Independent


  • "(On the Nibelungen Tetralogy: III-IV)"

  • "The Illogical Wagner"


Dedicated to Xavier Mayne. A critique of Wagner's Tetralogy and other works as clumsy, contradictory, and unworthy of their wide praise.


  • "Where the Mastersingers Sang"

  • "The Wagnerian Dragon"


Originally published as "The Wagnerian Dragon" (Feb 11, 1899) in Harper's Bazar.


  • "Bayreuth: Performances and Promises"

  • "A Star Sets: Max Alvary (♱ 1898)"

  • "≪Parsifal in New York?≫"


Originally published as "Parsifal in New York?" (Dec 17, 1903) in The Independent


  • "(From An Address By Gaetano Negri, 1892)"

  • "The Unfamiliar "Il Trovatore""

  • "Verdi: And Theme-Structure of "Aida""

  • "Italian "Stile Nuovo" In Opera"

  • "(French Music .... Nationalist In Art)"

  • "Gounod's "Faust" Considered Thematically"


Possibly originally published as "Thematic and Other Significances in Gounod's 'Faust'" (Mar-Apr 1896) in Music: A Monthly Magazine. Part 1. Part 2.


  • "Gounod's "La Rédemption." And Of Biblical Oratorios"

  • "Four Current Opera-Writers: De Lara, Massenet, Mancinelli, Goldmark"

  • "(Violinismo)"

  • "Women And The Violin: Lady Hallé (Wilda Neruda): "The Grand Style."

  • "Chopin"


Expanded from "Frederick Chopin" (Oct 26, 1899), originally published in The Independent. Dedicated to Vernon Lee. A lauding summary of Chopin as a genius who championed the piano to greater affect than any other musician. Prime-Stevenson argues that Chopin has not been succeeded as a pianist, then summarizes Chopin's influences and artistic traits. An anecdote about Chopin's temper by a former pupil concludes the essay.


  • "Moritz Rosenthal, Emil Sauer: And Modern Pianism"

  • "The Patent Virtuoso"

  • "Speaking-Actors And Singing-Actors"


Originally published as "Speaking-Actors and Singing-Actors" (Jan 26, 1899) in The Independent


  • "A Fairy-Tale Untold: Rubinstein — A Last Look"

  • "Imagination and Realism In Magic: Richard Strauss."

Excerpt published in Disques (Sep 1932).

  • [Further contents unavailable.]


Also see:

Ghosts in the Archives: The Queer Knowledge and Public Musicology of Vernon Lee, Rosa Newmarch, and Edward Prime-Stevenson (2018) by Kristin Franseen.

Content & Trigger Warnings

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Editions

N/A

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