Orpheus in Manhattan: William Schuman and the Shaping of America’s Musical Life by Stephen Swayne/Oxford University Press £27.50

Several decades ago, a performance of a relatively modern symphonic work took place at London’s Royal Festival Hall, which created something of a stir (at least as much of a stir as a classical concert is wont to do). The piece was In Praise of Shahn by a then-living American composer, William Schuman. It was an astonishing piece: muscular, powerful and with an authoritative use of orchestral resources that demonstrated the hand of a master. What’s more, despite being ineluctably modern, it was immensely accessible and exciting. Those who were propelled into an investigation of the composer’s works by this concert (such as this writer) were to discover that he was something of an American institution. Not as well-known as Copland or Bernstein (both of whom demonstrated a popular touch which was only fitfully apparent in Schuman’s music), but to Americans he was one of the great administrators of music, famously as director of Lincoln Centre in New York. This fascinating biography of a crowded life throws much new light on the neglected composer whose work is now becoming better known (Naxos recently recorded an impressive set of the symphonies – those symphonies, that is to say, that the composer sanctioned for publication, conducted by Gerard Schwarz). Apart from anything else, Stephen Swayne, by describing the composer’s prodigal work ethic, will make most of us seem like sluggards. And this insightful biography may send the more adventurous music lovers on a journey which they will find rewarding.