Child Composers and Their Works: A Historical Survey

In Child Composers and Their Works: A Historical Survey, Barry Cooper examines over 100 composers born before 1900 who wrote substantial musical works before age 16. The book provides a general overview of the subject, examining the ways and identifying possible reasons these works have been marginalized in the general literature. The book also contains an annotated checklist of over 100 notable child composers, presenting a valuable and handy reference of these creators and their early works. The annotated checklist presents a chronological listing of child composers born before 1900 and features a descriptive list of what they wrote, often including analytical commentary and offering occasional music examples for illustration. The list also includes a select catalog of works, suggestions for further reading, and recordings when available. Complete with a bibliography and an index of composers, this resource is invaluable to scholars and historians.

About the Author :
Barry Cooper is professor of music at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Beethoven and the Creative Process (1990) and Beethoven (Master Musicians) (2008).

Review :
A lofty undertaking? Certainly. But one that must happen if we are to move beyond the barriers that Brooks has so ably shown exist in understanding the value of music by one such undersung group-children. And by hearing-and patiently working to understand-the voices of the voiceless we will experience the truth richness of the human life cycle, from beginning to end. Barry Cooper is a prominent scholar and prolific writer about Beethoven and other musical subjects. Here he explores a relatively untouched and somewhat marginalized area: music written by children younger than 16....Includres bibliography and composer index. This work is an essential purchase for all larger public and academic librarians. Cooper reveals that study of this subject can illuminate broader issues of interest to those involved in the study of children more generally. Recommended. This volume is an attempt to fill an enormous void in historical musicology studies: the works of child composers. The author in his introduction is quite detailed and precise about what he feels this “virgin field” is. He is not talking about music written by adults for children, or children’s music concerned with pedagogy in the classroom. The purpose of this book is to provide preliminary research for more extensive studies of musical compositions written by children in the past.