Outskirts Press, INC.

A “Kitchen Confidential” For The Art Of Conducting.

“Martin Kessler has studied, taught, sung, composed and conducted serious music for more than a half century. While mainly working regionally, Kessler has nonetheless sat at the feet of, befriended, and otherwise commingled with a number of our era’s brightest musical lights. With The Podium Papers, he has determined to shed some light of his own down the often dim and tortuous corridors of music criticism. In it, he does not hesitate to–the pun is unavoidable–settle some scores, and this, he manages through fresh insight rather than subjective invective.”

“Of course, it helps that Kessler is a wonderful writer who wears his considerable erudition lightly. Apart from the wealth of musical observations and startlingly honest personal reflections, readers will be struck by the pleasure of travelling in such good company.”

—Richard Hawley, author of Greeves Passing and The Three Lives of Jonathan Force