The Life and Death of Classical Music: Featuring the 100 Best and 20 Worst Recordings Ever Made

Book Description

In this compulsively readable, fascinating, and provocative guide to classical music, Norman Lebrecht, one of the world’s most widely read cultural commentators tells the story of the rise of the classical recording industry from Caruso’s first notes to the heyday of Bernstein, Glenn Gould, Callas, and von Karajan.

Lebrecht compellingly demonstrates that classical recording has reached its end point–but this is not simply an expos? of decline and fall. It is, for the first time, the full story of a minor art form, analyzing the cultural revolution wrought by Schnabel, Toscanini, Callas, Rattle, the Three Tenors, and Charlotte Church . It is the story of how stars were made and broken by the record business; how a war criminal conspired with a concentration-camp victim to create a record empire; and how advancing technology, boardroom wars, public credulity and unscrupulous exploitation shaped the musical backdrop to our modern lives. The book ends with a suitable shrine to classical recording: the author’s critical selection of the 100 most important recordings–and the 20 most appalling.

Filled with memorable incidents and unforgettable personalities–from Goddard Lieberson, legendary head of CBS Masterworks who signed his letters as God; to Georg Solti, who turned the Chicago Symphony into “ the loudest symphony on earth”–this is at once the captivating story of the life and death of classical recording and an opinioned, insider’s guide to appreciating the genre, now and for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

The crisis of classical music?.......2007-08-17

In the last times several books and articles have cast doubts about the future of classical music. Evidences like the ageing of audiences attending concerts or the lack of renewal of repertoires support that thesis. In this context, the writer and critic Norman Lebrecht has published a new book on the subject. To support his thesis, the first part of the book is devoted to the history of the record industry, its rise and its fall, how were founded the companies that lead the sector for half a century; the impact of new technologies (stereophonic sound, digital recording) and formats (LP, CD) in its evolution; and, finally, the present situation where big companies face a shrinking production and a fierce competition from small independent publishers besides the internet and downloads.
Any selection is obviously subjective and the criteria applied can be questioned. Nevertheless it is worth to know the circumstances and fact that were around the making of these records, some of them unanimously considered as absolute references.
What is left after reading the book is a certain air of pessimism. However its reading is worthwhile as it offers a vivid description of the recording industry, well documented with bibliographic references, and what is more important, with the author's personal experiences.

Always entertaining and informative.......2007-07-04

Lebrecht has been placing lilies on the grave of classical music for some time now. A more accurate title would be "The Life and Death of Classical Recording," as classical music itself is alive and well. It is an observable fact that the traditional CD is probably on its way out as a "pop" music vehicle; it would be unrealistic to expect classical recording to be unaffected by the ongoing shift to MP3 and other computer formats. Like the "Death" card of the Tarot deck, signifying not death so much as change, the industry is not dying but evolving in unexpected directions. What must be upsetting for those involved is the unpredictability of change - who, in 1975, would have predicted the prevalence of hip-hop today? The same forces are reflected in classical music, on a smaller scale.

The relative popularity of classical music in the 20th century's midpoint was an anomaly. Through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, composers were dependent on patronage (Schubert may have been the first serious composer to support himself, primarily through the popularity of his songs for the Biedermeier set, rather than his "serious" music). The typical 19th century European peasant, like his modern American counterpart, may have gone his entire life without hearing a Beethoven piano sonata. The majority, then as now, had their "popular" music.

Lebrecht manages to unearth endless troves of fascinating minutiae. For instance, he relates how Phillips, the inventors of the cassette, partnered with Sony to develop the compact disc. The Dutch wanted the new format to be the same size as the cassette, however, the favorite piece of the Sony chairman's wife was Beethoven's 9th Symphony, too long to fit onto a disk of that size. To accommodate it, the disk's diameter was increased to allow 80 minutes of music, with the center hole corresponding to the size of the smallest Dutch coin.

The list of the "100 best" and "20 worst" recordings don't exactly complement each other. The "100" are sometimes, but not always, the "best;" Lebrecht chose many recordings primarily for their significance, be it artistic, historical, or political. The "20" were not chosen for their lack of significance; in most cases, they represent bad ideas or poor execution by people who should have known better.

Deserves to be placed aside next to the Penguin Guide...........2007-06-21

A fascinating and absorbing read, Lebrecht's expose into the demise of classical music is as revealing as it is heartbreaking. Ten years ago, I was fortunate enough to work at one of the top classical radio stations in the US--(KDFC Classical 102.1 FM in San Francisco)there, I acquired a passion for classical music, reading Grammaphone and the Penguin Guide to Classial Compact Disc's with a fervor as children do with comic books. In short, it was an education in many ways--music as an art form, the aquisition of a refined taste, and a practical education into a highly unpredicatable business.

Lebrecht's book sheds light on all the vanities, egos, and personalities in the industry--past and present. Here is Karajan--masestro grandioso--feared but respected, whose net worth at his death was estimated at over $500 million with most of it derived from reissues of his earlier and better performances. Here is Bernstein, who, considered a somewhat of a second-tier conductor, plagued with insecurities and pretentious self-doubt, would often exasperate orchestras without punctuality or form (often forcing entire orchestras to wait an hour or more before he took to the podium) with his disdain for the inviolate nature of some works that are an inherent part of a country's national identity. Although venerated as a national treasure, Lebrecht paints another dimension to Bernstein; he recalls how the conductor completely botched a recording session with BBC Orchestra to produce one of the "worst classical recordings of all time"--Elgar's Enigma Variations in 1982. A very sloppy and unprofessional approach to a job overall and a personal insult to the dead composer's memory and the English.

What is interesting about this book is how Lebrecht puts it all together; the rivalries between the major labels: Decca, DG, Phillips, EMI and their producers scrambling to be the first to sign an exclusive contract with the industry's power players--Bernstein, Solti, Rattle, among others; how "crossover" discs and performances(a Bono and Pavarotti duo easily comes to mind)ultimately spelled doom for serious classical music fan; how the major labels used sexy CD cover art of young and talented artists like Vanessa Mae, Anne Sophie Mutter and Charlotte Church to increase sales of an already declining market, and the unexpected rise of Klaus Heymann and NAXOS. Here is the budget CD tycoon who taught all the "majors" a valuable lesson by hiring lesser known and Eastern European orchestras looking for work and produced several Grammaphone award-winning discs with Vivaldi's Four Seasons taking away honors as one of the best-selling classical recordings ever produced topping sales of 1.16 million besting even the venerated Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops!

If you ever wanted to know the in and outs of a business as fascinating as the classical music industry, this is a must read.

Glad to finally meet Chopin.......2007-06-16

This book is an informative and enjoyable read but I'm most grateful for the Masterpieces List. I bought #15- Chopin Waltzes played by Dinu Lipatti and discovered the Chopin who all the shouting was about. Lipatti's Chopin is sparkling, witty and entirely lacks the dirge-like sound that the other artists in my small collection have. Wow! I can hardly wait to sample others from Lebrecht's list.

A most interesting, if rather depressing, book.......2007-06-15

Norman Lebrecht can always be counted on to stir things up, and this book is no exception. The first half is a brief history of the classical recording industry, which Lebrecht believes to be dead. The second half is an annotated list of recordings, 100 of the most significant of the century, and 20 that should never have been made. The tone is breezy, gossipy, and opinionated; the anecdotes are fascinating, and Lebrecht pulls no punches. One wishes he had checked facts a bit closer, however. For example: Gould's "first on a major label" Goldbergs were preceded by Landowska's on RCA; Rautavaara is by no means a minimalist composer; the Beaux Arts Trio recorded Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Haitink and the LPO, not Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus. But these are minor quibbles in what is a very recommendable read.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Doctors & Medicine | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Lawyers & Criminals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

French | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Victorian | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

German | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

War on Drugs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Science | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Online Research | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books

Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Sailor Moon | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Pilates | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Romance Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

classical music appreciation and theory
Great book
humor overpowers the content
Really gets you up to speed on classical music
A very good entry level book

Classical Music for Dummies
David Pogue , and Scott Speck
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Reference | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

For Dummies | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Reference | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0764550098

Amazon.com

In a time when school music classes (if they exist at all) teach their students the finer points of the themes from The Twilight Zone and Jaws instead of real music; when classical radio stations are converted to Lite Rock or switched to a "top 100" classical jukebox format; and when even churches increasingly favor banal "Jesus Is My Boyfriend"-style slop instead of Bach, Mozart, and Vaughn Williams, classical music may legitimately be seen as an endangered cultural species. Enter Scott Speck and David Pogue, who take out the unnecessary mystery, and offer an easy-to-swallow quickie education, ranging from Gregorian chants to contemporary composers such as John Adams and John Corigliano. If you can't tell an oboe from a bassoon, there's also a dandy guide to the instruments of the orchestra, and once you're through that information you'll know the difference between a concerto and a sonata. Best of all is the introduction to music theory, which actually makes a daunting subject seem easy. It's all supported by a helpful enhanced compact disc (it works in your CD-ROM drive; it plays on your stereo's CD player) containing more than an hour of representative musical tidbits from good EMI recordings. Although the tone is unremittingly flippant and the jokes are, for the most part, pretty bad, Classical Music for Dummies is one of the better works in this series, and really does provide a useful reference for a subject too often seen as arcane.

Book Description

The more you know about classical music, the more you love it. Now, thanks to Classical Music For Dummies, you can achieve a whole new level of insight into both the composers and the compositions that have made classical music one of the great accomplishments of humankind.

Classical Music For Dummies doesn't assume that you have a degree in musicology -- or even that you took a course in music appreciation. Rather, the multimedially gifted David Pogue and renowned conductor Scott Speck explain classical music in terms you can understand, and they describe musical elements so that you can hear them for yourself.

A reference you can dip into at any point, Classical Music For Dummies covers such topics as

The various forms that classical music takes -- from symphonies to string quartets
What goes on behind the scenes and on stage to fill a concert hall with great classical music
How to recognize, by sight and by sound, the many instruments that make up an orchestra
The nuts and bolts of classical music -- from rhythm to harmonic progression

Plus, Classical Music For Dummies comes complete with a CD containing over 60 minutes of masterpieces compiled especially for the book. The CD also includes a demo version of the Angel/EMI Classics For Dummies ^TM multimedia interface to try out on your Windows-based PC or Macintosh computer.

Customer Reviews:

classical music appreciation and theory.......2007-09-04

This book is incredibly well written. It was totally absorbing, entertaining and informative. By the time I finished it, I felt like I had earned a degree in classical music appreciation and another in music theory.

Great book.......2007-08-23

My husband had never been exposed to classical music and when we got married, he wanted to be able to carry on a conversation with the rest of my family. He has loved this book and it has really taught him a lot about classical music.

humor overpowers the content.......2007-08-09

You have to be careful with the Dummies series. Some authors use humor with discretion, others, as in this case, lard on so much humor that it gets in the way of learning and turns what should be a pleasure into an ordeal of extracting the useful information from the attempt at clever wise-cracks, puns and general satire.

Yes, there is information here if you are willing to work to get it, but a good 50% of the text is gratuitous laughs. There are other books, such as "The Classical Music Experience" by Jacobson, that treat the reader as someone intelligent who seeks to know rather than to be entertained.

The best advice is to go to the library and look in the music appreciation section. You'll find many superior alternatives to this book.

Really gets you up to speed on classical music.......2007-07-08

If you love--or would like to at least understand--classical music, then this is the book to read. It is fun, quick and not so technical or snooty as many books on this subject. In fact, it's not snooty at all. I learned a bunch I had no idea of, reaffirmed things I did know, and corrected several misconceptions. Read this if you are going to be around "high-brow" snooty types and then just smile quietly as they rattle on and on. Little will they know that you "understand the language."

A very good entry level book.......2005-09-14

This is a very good entry level book, about classical music.
It's fun to read and it's written in an easy to understand level.
I recomend this book for all the people who likes classical music and wants to learn more before moving to more serious books.

Twentieth-Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America (Norton Introduction to Music History)

Average customer rating:

best overview of the century
Not Completely Comprehensive
The History of Modern Music for The Layman

Twentieth-Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America (Norton Introduction to Music History)
Robert P. Morgan
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 039395272X

Customer Reviews:

best overview of the century.......2001-05-12

Morgan's book is the best that I have found for an overview of the entire 20th century in "classical" music. He divides his analysis into 3 logical sections:

Part 1. Beyond Tonality: From 1900 to World War I

Part 2. Reconstruction and New Systems: Between the Wars

Part 3. Innovation and Fragmentation: From WWII to the Present

This allows for some nuance that a simple list of composers often misses. For instance, Schoenberg's "atonal revolution" is covered in Part 1, along with the "new tonalities" of Stravinsky and Bartok. Part 2 covers the origin of the "twelve-tone system," but makes clear that it did not become influential until years later with the "serial revolution" in France, led by Messiaen and Boulez, in Part 3.

As others have noted, Morgan is not as strong on the more recent period, partly because the book was published in 1991 and thus misses such phenomena as Schnittke's surge of popularity, especially in Russia and Europe, after the collapse of the Soviet regime. I recommend two other books along with Morgan: 1) Gann's "American Music in the Twentieth-Century," which covers developments in the U.S. in greater detail, thus including for instance one of my favorites, Roger Reynolds, and 2) Griffiths' masterful "Modern Music and After," which begins after the Second World War.

Not Completely Comprehensive.......1999-12-12

This is a very good book, but it only covers the first three-quarters of the century. Minimalism is the latest movement that it really covers comprehensively. After that, most composers recieve only two or three lines of text. This is, of course, understandable, given when the book was written. Just be warned that more recent developments in music are often ignored or not given the attention they deserve. Also, it should be noted that the book generally restricts itself to "classical" music. Jazz and Free Improvisation, despite being arguably the most vital and truly revolutionary forces in music of the first 2/3 and last 1/3 of the century, respectively, are mentioned only in passing if at all.

The History of Modern Music for The Layman.......1997-03-15

As we end the 20th century, we may not realize that 20th century music covers the same time span as the 19th century Romantic music period. Have we grasped the meaning of modern music. To do this one needs to understand the history as well as the dynamics of 20th century music. Here is a book that fills the bill. Not only does Mr. Morgan discuss the growth and change in 20th century music but he does it in it's historical context of our maturing as a world. For many the atonality of 20th century music is hard to grasp, especially when concert artists and orchestras continue to emphasize in their repatoire 19th century music. But as the world changes so will music. A book to awaken your interest in 20th century music and the composers who were the leaders of this period.

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music (NPR Curious Listener's Guide To...)

Average customer rating:

Disappointing
Not recommended because of competing products
Guide for the curious listener
NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music (NPR Curious Listener's Guide To...)
Tim Smith
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0399527958
Release Date: 2002-08-06

Book Description

* The major composers from Bach and Bartok to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky
* Significant performers from Maurice Andre and Leornard Bernstein to Georg Solti and Yo Yo Ma
* The landmark works from Appalachian Spring to Don Juan
* A concise history of classical music
* A deconstruction of the art form
* The language of classical music
* Valuable resources for the Curious Listener

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2006-03-18

To say I was disappointed in this "guide" is an understatement. I expected so much more from NPR. I live in New Orleans and lost a lot of my books in the flood following Katrina, so I needed a new classical music reference. This one is not at all useful to me.

Not recommended because of competing products.......2004-08-02

This book reminds me of the old saying that "a camel is a horse built by a committee." This text isn't quite right for either beginners or intermediate lovers of classical music. It's not user-friendly or clever enough for beginners, and it's too thin and too passionless for intermediates. It's perfectly okay, but falls well short of the competition.

There are lots of really good classical-music guides on the market, however. Some fun, not-too-taxing ones are Marcus Weeks' "Music: A Crash Course" and Phil G. Golding's "Classical Music." Each of these is fun and fresh.

If you want something more substantive and brainy that will allow you to show off at your next embassy cocktail party, try Fred Plotkin's "Classical Music 101" or Jan Swafford's "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music." Plotkin's is better, but a bit stiff, and Swafford's has many more illustrations.

The very best is, believe it or not, is David Pogue's and Scott Speck's "Classical Music for Dummies." It comes with a good audio CD of sample classical tracks, and the two authors are both professional musicians and very bright people. It's a real and helpful treat.

Guide for the curious listener.......2003-02-28

I found this book to be a pleasent introduction to a greater understanding of the genre of classical music. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have some understanding of music theory. Knowing what such things as polyphony and monophony are about all that you need to know. The introduction nicley summarizes the book's theme. This is a much better and cheaper way to get introduced to classical music then through such other books as "Classical Music for Dummies," or the "Idiot's Guide to Classical Music." The only thing I found somewhat questionable about this book was the choice of cd's that have been selected for one to build a collection with; otherwise, this book is a valuble resource for liteners be they curious or even casual. For those serious about classical music this book will seem too elemental for their tastes.

NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music.......2002-12-16

I found this to be a very helpful, friendly over-all guide to classical music. It contains brief descriptions of major works, capsule bios of well-known composers, and lots of helpful information presented in an easy to understand, down to earth manner. As a novice to this type of music, I found the vast world of Classical repertoire a bit intimidating, but Mr. Smith is not the least bit pretentious, and I found his writings warm and welcoming. I'm sure that even seasoned classical music fans will find this book a handy reference.

The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text

Average customer rating:

contains original German alongside English translations
Outstanding Resource
Costly but useful

The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text
Alfred Durr
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0199297762

Book Description

This is the only English translation of this important book by the world's most distinguished Bach scholar. This work is widely regarded as the most authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the Bach cantatas. It begins with a historical survey of the seventeenth-century background to the cantatas, and performance practice issues. The core of the book is a work-by-work study in which each cantata in turn is represented by its libretto, a synopsis of its movements, and a detailed analytical commentary. This format makes it extremely useful as a reference work for anyone listening to, performing in, or studying any of the Bach cantatas. All the cantata librettos are given in German-English parallel text. For the English edition the text has been carefully revised to bring it up to date, taking account of recent Bach scholarship.

Customer Reviews:

contains original German alongside English translations.......2007-08-23

This is a dense and rewarding book for classical music fans as well as those interested in the German language. Worth the price.

Outstanding Resource.......2007-02-07

Alfred Durr's The Cantatas of J.S. Bach is the "bible" for any conductor, artistic director, church musician or music performer and listener that is interested in performing or understanding Bach's canon. Hi give it my highest recomendation.

Costly but useful.......2006-05-09

This is a very expensive, but wonderfully useful book. It gives the libretto to every single cantata plus information on the liturgical occasion for the cantata and a good, albeit brief discussion of the meaning of the piecel I quailed when I first bought it, because it is expensive. But it is my vade mecum. I use it constantly.

Average customer rating:

Solid survey text for undergraduate music history courses and the general reader
A decent survey, but not without several major holes

Baroque Music (3rd Edition)
Claude Palisca
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0130584967

Book Description

M->CREATED

Customer Reviews:

Solid survey text for undergraduate music history courses and the general reader.......2005-11-15

The problem with teaching a survey course that introduces a topic a broad and deep as the Baroque era of music (roughly 1600 - 1740) is that there is never enough time to do more than touch on the most important points. If you dive deeply into one area, say, the concerto, that's it. You are done for the term and maybe more. This text does a good job in supporting such a course. It allows the student to get a quick overview and use all those nice new terms they are learning. It is not comprehensive; no single volume book could be.

There are many good music examples and the writing is clear and to the point. A professor using this text will likely provide his or her own supplementary material and focus in on certain areas more than another. Some chapters are likely to be assigned reading, but not discussed much in class.

For the general reader, this is also a solid introductory text, but if you don't have a handle on a lot of musical terms, you might want to also pick up a good music dictionary as well.

A decent survey, but not without several major holes.......2005-07-30

This book is part of the Prentice Hall History of Music Series. I have not read every book in the series, but they seem to be similar overall--good but not great.

At first one might think a 300+ page book on Baroque music is sufficient. Palisca begins with the rise of the Baroque ideal, and quickly moves to Italy and the rise of Baroque music there. Other chapters cover various genres and countries, including lute and keyboard music, organ and clavier music in Germany, dramatic music in England, sacred music in France, and J.S. Bach.

Palisca's writing seems good for undergraduate music majors-the reader needs a strong background of musical terms and concepts in order to get the most out of the book, but it is certainly not too dry or cerebral. The musical excerpts in the book are illustrative of Palisca's points, and the bibliographies at the end of each chapter are particularly helpful.

The main problem of this text is its inability to comprehensively address all of the music. While J.S. Bach does receive his own chapter, he only gets twenty pages. Palisca really covers only a couple of concertos in this space, ignoring all of Bach's other works. This happens in a number of places.

What this book had going for it was the fact that there were not any other texts out there which were any better. Professors had to choose between this text and the Bukofzer text from the Norton Series written in 1947 (music scholars have uncovered a great deal of information about Baroque music since the Korean War). I have not read the new Norton book by John Walter Hall, but if it's anything like the others, it will beat Palisca's text with regards to information, scope, and scholarship (though probably not readability).

Professors teaching an undergraduate course may still go with Palisca's book, but they should be prepared to supplant the text with other materials. It may be a good teaser to those with possible interest in Baroque music, and can be used as a reference/springboard to other topics.

The Cambridge Companion to Mozart (Cambridge Companions to Music)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Summary of Mozart Studies

The Cambridge Companion to Mozart (Cambridge Companions to Music)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0521001927

Book Description

Bridging the gap between scholarly and popular images of Mozart, this volume provides comprehensive coverage of all of his important works; the reception of his music since his death; the contexts which inform his work and his significance as a performer. It paints a rounded yet focused picture of one of the most revered artists of all time and enhances readers' appreciation of his extraordinary output.

Download Description

The Cambridge Companion to Mozart paints a rounded yet focussed picture of one of the most revered artists of all time. Bringing the most recent scholarship into the public arena, this volume bridges the gap between scholarly and popular images of the composer, enhancing the readers' appreciation of Mozart and his extraordinary output, regardless of their prior knowledge of the music. Part I situates Mozart in the context of late eighteenth-century musical environments and aesthetic trends that played a pivotal role in his artistic development and examines his methods of composition. Part II surveys Mozart's works in all of the genres in which he excelled and Part III looks at the reception of the composer and his music since his death. Part IV offers insight into Mozart's career as a performer as well as theoretical and practical perspectives on historically informed performances of his music.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Summary of Mozart Studies.......2004-09-26

This excellent collection of 17 essays by the leading contemporary (as of 2003) American and British Mozart scholars covers four major aspects of his life and work: The historical context, the works, reception, and performance. This is not a detailed analysis of the works themselves. Rather, it summarizes currently scholarly thinking and reviews the main trends in Mozart studies, with brief comments on major works, a bibilography, and extensive footnotes with citations pointing toward further study and research. Highly recommended as a supplement to other standard works. Especially fascintating is the discussion of the role of the movie "Amadeus" in stimulating interest in him.

Average customer rating:

4 and 1/2 for Being TOO SHORT!
Think outside the opera box
Brilliantly
Concise Examination of a Master Composer
Brilliant

Aspects of Wagner (Oxford Paperbacks)
Bryan Magee
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0192840126

Book Description

The man whom W.H. Auden called `perhaps the greatest genius that ever lived' has inspired extremes of adulation and loathing. In this penetrating analysis, Bryan Magee outlines the range and depth of Wagner's achievement, and shows how his sensational and erotic music expresses the repressed and highly charged contents of the psyche. He also examines Wagner's detailed stage directions, and the prose works in which he formulated his ideas, and sheds interesting new light on his anti-semitism. This new edition has been extensively revised. It includes a fresh chapter, `Wagner as Music'.

Customer Reviews:

4 and 1/2 for Being TOO SHORT!.......2007-05-28

Magee ended up outdoing himself in his later work "The Tristan Chord". And this is worth overall 4.5 stars for the same reasons: balanced, eminently insightful writing and just enough quirkiness to keep the interest at a high level throughout.

I guess it says alot for this book that I knocked off a half star entirely for its brevity. You end up wanting MORE at the end. Maybe I should have just relented and given this one 5 huh?

Think outside the opera box.......2006-08-28

Even though this book is years old, the ideas remain fresh and challenging. Questions of pacing in performance (maybe the dreaded longueurs are not necessary), and origins of Wagner's antiSemitism (an interesting twist on the privilege of the cultural outsider).
An easy read, something to discuss at intermission.

Brilliantly .......2006-08-21

This may seem odd, but to those of you interested enough to read reviews of this short book of essays on Wagner written nearly 40 years ago, my first advice is to read (no, run!) to Byran McGee's "Tristan Chord," published only a couple years ago, which in my humble opinion is one of the two greatest analytical works of Wagner's operas published in the last century. (The other is Deryck Cooke's "I Saw the World End"--an analysis of the "Ring" first published in 1979.)

McGee in that longer book and in this shorter collection of brief essays exemplifies the finest qualities of the English in his Wagner criticism: common sense, plain language, brilliant argumentation. He is such a relief from scholars (sorry, particularly German scholars) who think that opaque or convoluted rhetoric suggests depth. That's a [...]. Mr. McGee by comparison is fresh air...and his brilliance is self-evident.

This is a short book, six essays, each well defined on various aspects of Wagner. Two are clearly the most interesting: first, McGee's analysis of why Wagner's music excites such passion (pro or con)--i.e., what makes that music so affecting, so transcendant, so "dangerous" to many of us. He explores our guilty pleasure in Wagner better than any author has ever done. And second, his book offers a very interesting essay on the reasons for the flowering of Jewish intellectuals who so dominated and contributed to late 19th and early 20th century culture after over a thousand years of Jewish irrelevance to wider Western culture.

Those two essays make the book definitely worth acquiring and reading. The other essays are fine, if less sparkling. But I cannot emphasize enough: if you have any interest in Wagner, you must acquire Mr. McGee's "Tristan Chord." It is the best overall key to understanding Wagner's operas in print today.

Concise Examination of a Master Composer.......2005-02-08

More than any other figure in the classical Canon, Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883) has provoked a dichotomy of passion in regards to his music, character and legacy. Bryan Magee's *Aspects of Wagner*, a series of concise, articulate essays about the composer and theorist, confronts both sides of the polarization, examining the essential components that inspire such adulation, probing with unusual insight the negative connotations ever associated with mere mention of the name.

These aspects, in brief:

THEORY: After the success of Lohengrin, Wagner took a six-year break from composing to recharge the cylinders, theorize and re-examine the operatic form. The result of this sabbatical would shake the foundations of the Canon. For Wagner, no longer would drama be a means to a musical end - window-garnishing syntax to embellish the sonic - instead, music would be the means with which to express the dramatic ~emotion~ of the piece. Music would emphasize, shift and elucidate to the passage of the text, a notion that has proved indescribably influential: the whole of modern film-symphonic owes its debt to this innovation.

JEWS: A virulent anti-Semitist, repelled by the physical aspect of Jews and critical of their compositional abilities - "shallow and artificial" - Wagner espoused these opinions in the public forum and, in reality, reflected the mindset of mainstream German society during his time. Further propagated by Wagner's widow and offspring, these views influenced Hitler as a youth and were taken verbatim for his totalitarian platform. Wagner's demand for Judiasm to be eradicated, via renouncement of faith and conversion to Christian theism, was corrupted by the Nazi propagandists as a call for physical annihilation. More fuel for the critical fire! And yet, one of Wagner's closest companions, Hermann Levi, was a Jew, and conducted the premiere of Parsifal; moreover, Wagner's worldview of pacifism and assimilation doesn't jive at all with the Fascist manifesto - the Nazis took what was useful and abandoned the 'feel good' vibes. Bryan Magee doesn't really address any of this, however: rather, he theorizes as to ~why~ Wagner considered Jews inferior artists, especially in regard to the fact that three of the dominant geniuses of our modern culture were Jewish - Marx, Freud and Einstein. Magee points to the cultural repression of Judaism throughout hundreds of years, an isolationist subjugation that was only beginning to disintegrate by the start of 19th century; the flowering of Jewish intellect - and assimilation of Western culture - would take several generations to unfold. The resultant revolutionary thought of the triumvirate above, undeniable in their influence, stemmed from an outward contemplation and subsequent deconstruction of the adopted conventional standards. Indeed, Wagner's original essays are surprisingly insightful as to the underlying reasons for the artifice of Jewish composers of his day, though the eventual intellectual aptitude they would bring to the table undoubtedly eluded the composer.

IDOLATRY: As much the subject of abject idolatry as venomous refutation, Wagner is a love-or-hate figure, with little ground of compromise between. Magee theorizes that this is because the music, in harmonic construction and theme, gives expression to all that unconscious and repressed in the human mind, including Oedipal sexuality, unleashed eroticism, moral questioning and violence; the tonal qualities stir forth base, animalistic urges to the forefront, taboos further exemplified by the stage-work. The composer's emphasis on the undercurrents of the psyche predated modern psychology by fifty years: thus the subconscious ~rejection~ of many to his music, and its appeal to the more questing intellect.

INFLUENCE: A short list: Gustav Mahler, Anton Schonberg, Richard Strauss, Dvorak, Piotr Tchaikovsky, Claude Dubussy, Edward Elgar, Dmitry Shostakovich, Anton Bruckner; James Joyce, Bernard Shaw, Marcel Proust, D.H. Lawerence, Oscar Wilde, E.M. Forster, Thomas Mann, Virginia Wolff; T.S. Elliot, Baudelaire, Lytton, Ezra Pound; Nietzsche and Freud. When one contemplates the authority these people had over their disciples, the position of Wagner, in terms of all aspects of modern thought, truly staggers the mind, and lends credit to Magee's conclusion that "...Wagner has had greater influence than any other artist on our culture of the age."

PERFORMANCE: The greatest compositions can never reach true interpretation, according to Magee; each conductor brings something different to the performance, and only reaches an approximation of that on paper - even the creator fails to achieve a definitive performance! Magee also goes into depth about what is needed to properly stage a Wagner spectacle, and uses the model of Bayreuth's opera house, constructed by the composer himself, as the epitome surroundings. Wagner set the orchestra out-of-sight, so as not to distract the audience from the on-stage drama; he arranged the acoustics of the opera house to give emphasis to the words, with the music hovering beneath as counterpoint and ambient emphasis. Another issue in this essay is the conflict that arises in non-German speakers listening to Wagner. With the text so critical to the overall appreciation, and the differences of semantic inflection taken into account, there are two choices: learn German, or seek out the better translations that, although conforming to the grammar, sometimes lose the power of meaning.

MUSIC: Magee criticizes the (then) contemporary adaptation of Wagner's sound-cycles to politically-correct allegory. Wagner deliberately utilized myth and archetypes to simplify the narrative and give emphasis on emotional undercurrents; using it as critical commentary on current issues (1960's) was, to Magee, a debasement of Wagner's ideal. Magee also notes how difficult it is to write about the music ~itself~: thus the glut of media talking about every aspect of Wagner *except* that which he is most famous for, that which firmly set his place on the Romantic pantheon!

This book serves as an insightful analysis of Wagner, in all his complexities and contradictions. Recommended for the student of the classical Canon.

Brilliant.......2003-05-10

This penetrating essay on Wagner's works is deceptively brief. Magee's analysis is brilliant and right on target. He manages to say in a few well chosen words what other books ramble on about for pages. This book is well written, authoritative, and masterful. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician

Average customer rating:

Lifetime accumulation of knowledge by a great scholar
fascinating biography of Bach
well written, interesting...not "textbook-ish"
A True Scholar
Impressive!

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician
Christoph Wolff
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393322564

Amazon.com

The Learned Musician is an apt subtitle for this intellectual biography, which assesses the career of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with the scholarly rigor one would expect from a Harvard professor. Opening with a 1737 attack by a critic who labeled Bach a pedant who spoiled the natural beauty of his creations with "an excess of art," Christoph Wolff cogently compares the German composer to English scientist Isaac Newton. Both men "brought about fundamental changes and established new principles" in their chosen fields, he argues; both sought to reveal God's harmonious ordering of their world. While Wolff conscientiously covers the basics of Bach's life, including his two marriages and the musical achievements of his gifted family, the author's primary focus is on his performing (Bach was an unrivaled organist) and composing. From the Goldberg Variations through the Brandenburg Concertos to Art of the Fugue, Wolff carefully analyzes Bach's innovations in harmony and counterpoint, placing them in the context of European musical and social history rendered in nicely atmospheric detail. Casual readers may find this dense tome a bit daunting, but serious music lovers will relish the deeper understanding it conveys of a genius who transformed Western music. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. A landmark biography of Bach on the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, written by the leading Bach scholar of our age. Although we have heard the music of J. S. Bach in countless performances and recordings, the composer himself still comes across only as an enigmatic figure in a single familiar portrait. As we mark the 250th anniversary of Bach's death, author Christoph Wolff presents a new picture that brings to life this towering figure of the Baroque era. This engaging new biography portrays Bach as the living, breathing, and sometimes imperfect human being that he was, while bringing to bear all the advances of the last half-century of Bach scholarship. Wolff demonstrates the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music, showing how Bach's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher. And throughout, we see Bach in the broader context of his time: its institutions, traditions, and influences. With this highly readable book, Wolff sets a new standard for Bach biography. 42 b/w illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Lifetime accumulation of knowledge by a great scholar.......2007-06-24

We should all thank Christoph Wolff for putting his thoughts and knowledge of Johann Sebastian Bach in print. Christoph Wolff is the world's leading authority on Bach. He is currently Director of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, an appointment given to the person who presumably knows Bach best. He is University Professor at Harvard Univesity, a title given to those of retirement age that Harvard wishes to keep. A previous example of a University Professor is Paul Tillich. Christoph Wolff himself is a repository of knowledge about Johann Sebastian Bach that is unmatched in the world.

Christoph Wolff still teaches the course on Bach at Harvard that I audited during the 1975 academic year, except that now it is taught every other year. What a great intellectual experience that course was, to learn what Bach was trying to do, while contending with multiple personal and situational problems without a mentor, coping with the changing situation in Leipzig and the Thomaskirche and Thomasschule, all the while developing the intricacies of his music! I have experienced nothing intellectually to match his course.

Sometime after I audited his course, Christoph Wolff became Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, and upon achieving retirement age, was made University Professor.

In the course, Christoph Wolff discussed Die Kunst der Fuge. He emphasized that, to write a fugue one must resolve its closure or ending first. In his book, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, Christoph Wolff described Bach's early skills in German tablature, an early form of music notation used in north and central Germany in the 17th century. A musical score, written by Bach in tablature during his stay in Weimar, has recently been found. This finding emphasizes Bach's mastery of this form of music notation. A thought has gradually come to me, based upon information gathered from the writings and lectures of Christoph Wolff. When Bach resolved the ending of Die Kunst der Fugue, he may have written it down in tablature. It was a sort of shorthand for him, and, most importantly, it was beyond the scrutiny of the casual observer. Upon Bach's death, his sons may have recognized the resolution of the ending of Die Kunst der Fugue as tablature, but they did not recognize that bit of tablature as the resolution of the ending of Die Kunst der Fugue. I shared these ideas with Christoph Wolff during a visit with him with my wife, Julie Moll, at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig in May, 2007. It would be a most rewarding experience to hear the end of Die Kunst der Fugue. If the end of Die Kunst der Fugue is found, I strongly expect that Christoph Wolff will play a pivotal role in it.

There is no other book to match this one on Bach. I enjoyed it thoroughly.I found it refreshing and stimulating and had difficulty putting it down. This book represents the lifetime accumulaton of knowledge about an important topic, Johann Sebastian Bach, by a world-class scholar, Christoph Wolff. That is enough for five stars for me any day.

fascinating biography of Bach.......2006-06-30

I have read other biographies of Bach, but none more detailed or insightful than this. He really comes alive as a person.

well written, interesting...not "textbook-ish" .......2006-02-24

This book is really well written. It doesn't feel like a textbook when I read it, instead, it's as if you're reading a story. I don't feel as bored when reading for my class assignments. I'm able to read and remember what was said in the book.

A True Scholar.......2006-02-24

Hours of research on the part of the author pass by you in a few simple sentences. My recommendation comes from the value reflected in the nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. I agree and am grateful to hold in my hands ONE book so complete in information.

Impressive!.......2005-09-11

Wolff certainly has done the research and then written a passionate account of this "learned musician" for the ages. Among the fine qualities of this biography is a clear, concise writing style with erudite thinking demonstrated sorting out the historical sources surrounding Bach's life.

Tracing his life chronologically, the book's theme is one of a composer/virtuoso/organ expert who develops out of self-interest and passion for music and especially his family background of musicians. He certainly had some ins because of this family heritage, but certainly on the same hand earned his way by his demonstrated abilities on the organ, pipe organ construction and maintenance and finally composition.

Revolutionizing the music craft by his counterpoint and harmonization, his influence both to those who come after him including his two older sons, this man continues to play vital role in unfolding world of music.

Minor missing element which certainly is understandable for the non-theologically inclined is the major influence that Bach's theology played in his music. From the surviving Cavlov Bible that we have from J.S., we know this as certainty.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books