If you need this book then get it
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What you get in this book is a thorough and inclusive guide to classical music, composers and recordings of their works that's tailored to the last millimetre for the beginner classical music lover. I really appreciate the passion that comes across in the writing. Other classical guides can be clinical, only liking music if it's well recorded or scrupulously performed. Here, the authors aren't afraid to say that the music simply moved them. This enthusiasm rubs off onto the reader.
I found the book summarises too much. Everything is a summary, in fact, and while there's sometimes a lot of depth (in the boxouts in particular), I found myself wishing the authors would spend just a few more lines discussing a particular piece. But I'll bet that the series editor didn't allow that, for fear of people's eyes glazing over.
In future editions I'd love to see a section looking at key performers on each instrument, or for each composer. This can be an enormous help when choosing recordings in a record shop or online. For example, I believe "you can't go wrong" when choosing Angela Hewitt for Bach's harpsichord/clavier/piano pieces, or Vladimir Ashkenazy for Chopin. I'm sure guides are available, covering performers, but they're probably too advanced for people of this level.
I'd advise you to read the reviews of recordings very closely, however. Don't just buy blindly simply because the recording is recommended. The reviews are short (more summarising). There's no use buying a "bold, fresh interpretation' of a piece if you've never heard it played straight. The fact the authors haven't realised this is something of a failing. I also would have liked information on whether the recording is digital (DDD) or not, or at least an indication of what kind of audio quality we might expect. Reissues of very old recordings are pretty common these days (from even the 1930s) and some are recommended here.
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Informative, exciting, and positively opinionated
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The fourth edition of this invaluable guide is packed with information on classical music and should appeal to the novice and the longtime enthusiast - fact, anecdote, explanations of musical styles, explorations of musical forms, biographies and assessments of leading composers and musicians. It's an exciting, entertaining, informative, stimulating smorgasbord of a book which you can browse, read, use as reference material, or employ to settle arguments. It may, however, start as many arguments as it settles, for the material here does not sit on the fence. The assessments of various composers will fuel the ire of some fans … and bring a smile to the faces of others. This is information and professional opinion, not gospel. This is a reference book with presence, personality, and little pretension - it's never glib or trite. A book to stimulate those little grey cells, not one which will gather much dust.
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The best place to start to explore classical music
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This book is invaluable for those who have a limited knowledge of classical music and want to expand their listening repertoire. It is a compendium of information on over two hundred classical composers and their works. In addition to the information presented by composer, a number of boxes explore themes as diverse as "What is a Fugue?" (under Bach), "The Cult of the Conductor" (under Mahler) and "The Crisis of Tonality" (under Schoenberg). The choice of composers is excellent - of course when the number is limited, one can always gripe about the favourites that have been left out. The accounts are written in a lively, up-beat style that does not compromise the fidelity of the information. Each composer is covered by an introductory section that is largely biographic, followed by a treatment of major works. Finally, a number (typically one to three) of key recordings are recommended - they tend towards the conservative, but pretty much ensure that the new listener will not be disappointed.
It is worth pointing out that this book does not aspire to be a buyer's guide to CDs. That is the task of, for example, the Penguin and Gramophone guides (on Amazon: ISBN 0141022620 & 0860249727).
I would certainly recommend this book above the NPR guide and other "beginners guides" I have seen. Testimony to that is the fact that my copy has fallen apart from overuse over the years and is now held together with rubber bands. Enjoy!
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