Product Description

In this remarkable study, now an established classic which has remained in print since its first publication in 1971, Charles Rosen surveys the language of the music of the classical period. He concentrates on the three major figures of the time - Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - because 'it is in terms of their achievements that the musical vernacular can best be defined'. He follows the development of each composer's best-known genres: for Haydn, the symphony and string quartet; for Mozart, the concerto, string quintet and comic opera; for Beethoven, the piano sonata. In addition, the author ranges widely through material which falls outside these categories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53072 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Review
"'Brilliant and epoch-making.' Times Literary Supplement 'The word "masterpiece" should be used rarely if at all. But it applies to Charles Rosen's The Classical Style... This book sets new standards for the application of language to music' George Steiner"

About the Author
Charles Rosen, internationally renowned pianist and author, has also taught at various universities around the world, including Harvard, Oxford and Chicago. He lives in New York City and Paris.

Customer Reviews

A classic
I cannot believe that no-one has written about this book here before. Perhaps because it is a classic, it might be taken for granted. But I have found myself re-reading the section on Mozart while playing through a handful of the concertos, and relishing once again Rosen's vivid powers of communication. This is the sort of musical analysis that obviously arises from a deep love of, and a deep enjoyment of music, and contributes generously to it.

Rosen's own personality, immensely knowledgable, enthusiastic and intellectually rigorous make one long to feed him a first class dinner in return for the pleasure of his company over the years.

There is a warning: Rosen's books require some ability to be able to read music, and a general familiarity with the music. But 'The Classical Style' and 'Sonata Forms', despite their slightly academic titles, are some of the most companionable books known to me.

The best book in music literature
I have been reading this book for years, over and over. Like with all other books by Charles Rosen,you learn a lot about music with it. But not only about the music by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as the title would suggest, but about any music, becouse here you find a way of looking to music wich helps you to understand a lot of things.
Of course, many of Charles Rosen points of view have been discussed over the years. Sometimes the critics may have some reason. But in general, Rosen's insights are deeper and subtler than anything else you may find in the music literature.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in music.

ERRATA
The first thing I read in this book was a rather blatent error:

"All of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven is written with the system of equal temperament in mind, even music for string quartet."

All these composers in fact used irregular temperaments, not equal temperament. In fact, in Attwood's studies, Mozart advocates a 21-note meantone chain of 5ths:

Cb Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# E# B# Fx

In the cases of Ebb, Fb, and Bbb, Mozart wrote: "...these tones the harpsichord has not, but all other instruments have...".

Keyboards were tuned to various fixed meantone temperaments, and for this music they really still should be.