Falling From Grace
Autobiography of an Accordionist
total pages: about one inch thick (one sided sheets)
copyright: 1994

order from: William Schimmel
242 East 89th Street, No. 2-D
New York, NY 10128
USA

telephone: 212-876-0827

Review by Henry Doktorski:

Falling From Grace is a collection/smattering of Dr. William Schimmel's writings, press releases, drawings, reviews and music scores. This book is a visual/literary version of his music: eclectic, spontaneous, completely devoid of pretense, sometimes serious -- sometimes funny and informal. It is unique in several ways:

• There is no binding and no cover. The loose-leaf pages are photocopied (one side only) onto colored paper which conveniently divides the book into six sections: orange, pink, white, green, yellow and blue, which, curiously enough, seem to have nothing to do with the content. The entire assembly is packed into a clear heavy-duty plastic bag with the title hand-printed with black magic marking pen.

• A good portion of the book consists of Schimmel's drawings: bold, quick strokes which are sometimes immediately recognizable and sometimes not.

• One short two-page music score appears in the blue section, titled simply A Polka (which I assume was written by Schimmel). The text, which seems to be taken from a children's nursery rhyme, is: LIBERRY LIE, STICK YOUR FINGER IN YOUR EYE.

Some of the sections are titled:

• Schimmel Elgin -- A Design Proposal
  
• The Neupauer Conservatory of Music (where Schimmel studied as a boy)
  
• The ChristDentist (childhood reminiscences)
  
• Four Short Essays:
  
  1. Paul Creston and the "Art of Faking"
  2. The Tradition of Non-Tradition
  3. On Playing Paul Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 1
  4. On Playing Kurt Weill on the Accordion
• Port of Authority -- At the Port of Authority
  
• Why Can't Leonard Bernstein Put an Accordion Section in the New York City Symphathy!? [sic.]
  
• The Philadelphia Accordion Orchestra
  
• The Needleman -- A Play
  
• Four Calls -- A Short Story
  
• Schubert and Re-Cycling -- An Essay
  
• Essay on Style
  
• How NOT to Conduct and Accordion Orchestra

I found this book enjoyable; it sheds a fascinating glimpse into the personal life of one of America's greatest accordionists. Sometimes the stories are serious, as in Schimmel's story about the death of his next door neighbor, Mr. Emper, and subsequent service as an altar boy at the funeral.

Sometimes the stories are hilarious, as in "Mr. Needleman," a dramatized story about little Billy Schimmel's close encounter with Dr. Back. I laughed and laughed. In fact, I'd like to perform this little musical play myself!

Not everyone will like this book, just as not everyone likes Schimmel's music. Some time ago I received one letter from an accordionist who purchased Falling From Grace sight unseen by mail-order; he absolutely hated it and considered it a total waste of money.

I, however, found this "book" stimulating reading and entertaining also. I have my own criticisms: there are several redundant sections of the book; some information (especially press releases and Schimmel's artist biographies) is repeated more than is necessary and while reading I found myself skipping over sections that I had seen before.

Never-the-less, I believe that this book will be treasured by avant garde accordion aficionados.

He is considered also an authority on Kurt Weill. He has recorded all Weill's music with accordion. He is a prolific composer from concert stage to Broadway theater, including thousands of accordion works, test pieces, and commissions from the American Accordion Association (AAA).

Bill is the founder of the renowned Tango Project, he appeared with Oscar-winning Al Pacino in the film Scent of a Woman and has commissioned prominent composers. Keyboard Magazine (1992) cited Dr. Schimmel as "Best Accordionist" and the figure who philosophically has done the most to elevate the accordion's image in mainstream musical forms, such as classical, ethnic, avant garde and pop. Dr. Schimmel theater works made accordion history.