Bravo, Encore!
Reading Guide Questions for Bravo, Encore!
Download a PDF of these discussion questions, or read them below. You can purchase Bravo, Encore! from the publisher, online, and where all fine books are sold.
What is a musical encore? When does it come in a concert? What are some of its essential characteristics?
Why do you think encores are often audiences’ favorite parts of concerts?
According to what my grandmother, Lea Luboshutz, taught my brother and me, what is the best way to set up an encore? What other advice did she give my brother and me about encores?
How did my extended family help to ensure that my brother and I would get to play at least one encore when they attended our concerts?
My family consisted of many musicians but it also included some amazing storytellers. Why were these stories so important to the family, especially as they moved from country to country?
Our family has been described as a matriarchy. Who are some of the strong women in the family and what evidence is there that they ruled the roost? What are some of your favorite stories about them?
According to the stories in this book, what is the proper age for youngsters to play concerts in public for the first time? How do you know that they are ready?
Is there an age when it is too late to pick up a professional-level musical skill according to the book?
The book has many examples of good teaching (and some examples that are not so good). Based on the examples in the book, what characteristics would you be looking for in a teacher if you were learning an instrument?
My first book about the family (The Nightingale’s Sonata) has been described as a “family chronicle.” In what ways is this book also a portrait of the family without being a formal history?
Who are your favorite characters in this book and why? Who are your least favorite characters?
The book describes how musicians are just like the rest of us in some ways but in other ways very different. Give examples of each.
If you have been listening to the encores (and I hope you have), do you have some special favorites. Which are they and can you say why?
Many of the stories in this book are humorous. But some are serious and others raise important moral issues. Can you describe some of each?
Today, encores are much less common in concerts in the United States though when I attended concerts in Russia, they are still popular there. Why do you think that might be? (HINT. There is no right answer to this question . . . just something on which to speculate.)
Eugene Ormandy and Lea Luboshutz with family
Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Eugene Ormandy (center) relaxing with my grandmother, Lea Luboshutz (right), in Maine. Lea had shocked audiences at her final concert with his Orchestra by giving Ormandy a big kiss on stage (such things were not done in 1947!) Also in the photo on the left is my great aunt, Genia Nemenoff as well as standing, Mrs. Ormandy and my great uncle, Pierre Luboshutz.
Bravo, Encore! —
A Personal Playlist of Forty Classical Showpieces and the Stories of Those Who Played Them
by Thomas Wolf
$29.95 U.S. print | $9.99 ebook
Hardcover: 176 pages
40 color photographs
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Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher
Publication date: April 6, 2027
Language: English
ISBN: 9781963714371
Soon available where all fine books are sold.