George Frederick Bristow

Katherine K. Preston is a professor emerita of music at the College of William & Mary. Her five books and many edited volumes include Opera for the People: English-Language Opera and Women Managers in Late Nineteenth-Century America and Opera on the Road: Traveling Opera Troupes in the United States, 1825–1860.

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1 "The Life of a Musician: Troubles & Trials & Emergence as a ComposerInterlude A Pedagogy I: Private TeachingChapter 2 Fry and Willis: Bristow Becomes an AmericanistChapter 3 The 1850s: During Which Young Apollo Becomes a Jack-of-All-Trades and a Renowned MusicianInterlude B Sacred Music: Church Music Director and Sacred ComposerChapter 4 The 1860s: Personal and National Agony and TriumphInterlude C Pedagogy II: Teaching in SchoolsChapter 5 The 1870s: "A Manly and Patriotic" Composer of "Native Independence and Originality"Interlude D George Bristow as Businessman and Musical AuthorityChapter 6 The Stalwart Educator and ComposerConclusionNotesDiscographyWorks CitedIndex

"Katherine Preston, accomplished and admired historian of the musical institutions of nineteenth-century America, has impeccable credentials to serve as Bristow's biographer. . . . Her story is compelling and authoritative." --Music & Letters"Katherine K. Preston's book on George Frederick Bristow, the thirteenth in the series, is an important expansion of the coverage and a welcome addition to the literature on American musical culture before 1900. . . . This book should serve as essential reading for scholars of nineteenth-century European music -- I can think of no book that gives such a broad introduction to the musical culture of nineteenth-century America in a similarly compact and focused way." --Nineteenth-Century Music Review"A critical edition of Bristow's Second Symphony introduced by an outstanding monograph-length essay by Katherine Preston, vigorously challenges us to reassess our collective opinion of Bristow by offering a new interpretive perspective on his life, his music, and the roles played by each within the broader development of orchestral music in the United States. Preston's introductory essay alone is worthy of extended commentary." --Notes