Harrison Gradwell Slater Wignall combined the careers of musicologist, pianist and novelist. He has published three books on
Mozart, the last of which is the mystery novel
NightMusic, which deals with the life and music of Mozart. The sequel,
Nocturne, explores
Chopin's biography and music within a contemporary narrative. For his first book, Slater (the author's pen name since 1995) traveled to fifty-five cities in nine European countries and completed his research over three years with correspondence to archives throughout Europe, always posing unresolved questions about Mozart Gedenkstaetten – the palaces, concert halls and salons in which Mozart performed, the houses and taverns in which he lodged, and the churches and public edifices that he visited. The resulting reference book, ''In Mozart's Footsteps
, has been called "an amazing feat of scholarship" by the pianist, Alfred Brendel, while Nicholas Slonimsky described it as "absorbing in its brilliance". Opera Quarterly
and Mozart Studien
, among others. Some of his recent discoveries include previously unknown Mozart documents and manuscripts that have shed light on issues of recent Mozart research. He has also written entries for the latest editions of The New Grove, Die
Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and has published articles in Perspectives of New Music, Indiana Theory Review, and the Nuova rivista musicale italiana''. Slater's discovery in 1993 of the
vocal nocturne tradition, and its influence on Mozart and Chopin are found in his seminal work
Mozart and the Duetto Notturno Tradition, and his entry "Duetto Notturno" in
The New Grove. Slater worked in various music capacities: a music theory instructor at Massasoit Community College, Brockton, Massachusetts, 1975–1980; music specialist, Munich (Germany) International School, 1980–1982, and International School of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, 1984–1985; ballet pianist, National Theatre, Munich, 1982–1984; and as a ballet pianist at La Scala, Milan, 1985–1986. He performed numerous concerts during this period. He was a member of the American Musicological Society, Society Music Theory, Harvard Club, and Phi Beta Kappa. Slater studied music and languages at
Brandeis University,
Boston University,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and
Harvard, and was fluent, in addition to English, German, French and Italian. He was active as a music instructor in
Boston, Munich,
Milan, and Tokyo and worked at the
National Theatre Munich and
La Scala in Milan as a ballet pianist, performing numerous concerts. Slater finished recordings featuring the music of Mozart and Chopin, and has completed the sequel to
NightMusic, He died on April 6, 2017, in Mt. Holly, NJ at the age of 66. == Works ==