Product Description

This well-balanced guide to classical music examines historical and contemporary works by American, British, German and other composers, some dating back to the 1500s. It focuses on the very finest recordings of symphonies, operas, choral pieces, chamber music, and more performed by an international spectrum of premier conductors and musicians. Thought-provoking profiles highlight each composer's unique characteristics and contributions to the classical world. Incisive, often anecdotal critiques of selected works and exemplary recordings emphasize distinctive style and interpretation. Historical essays explore the classical repertory from medieval to electronic, Broadway to Hollywood, and more. Written in vivid language, this comprehensive guide also profiles conductors, artists, and instruments.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #487504 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1200 pages

About the Author
Alexander Morin founded the Aldine Publishing Company. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Customer Reviews

Worthy addition
Good reference texts are essential to the casual music collector like myself. The Gramophone and Penguin guides are widely available and popular, but for anyone seeking a further set of critical opinions, this book is an excellent choice.
Crucially, the book is American, which provides a slightly more objective stance on British composers, and is much stronger and more detailed on American composers and avant-garde music.
Some of the criticism is opinionated and forthright, and occasionally funny, which is not something you can often say about classical music reviews. (The sections on Philip Glass and John Tavener raised a chuckle)
But perhaps most importantly for the budding collector, the reviews for each piece of music do not centre on one or two favoured recordings, but weigh up the relative merits of a great many different recordings and performers. (even unavailable recordings, which is handy for vinyl)
A must buy for anyone interested in building a classical collection.