Bach, Beethoven and the Boys chronicles the lives of the great (and not-so-great) composers as you've never read them before - exploring their sex lives, exposing their foibles and expanding our knowledge of these remarkable but also human creatures.
| ||||||||||||
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Book Description
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Facts and trivia abound in this gentle expose of music history. From Bach's laundry lists to Handel's unexpected success in Italy, this provides a lively, involving format which treats musicians as human beings and which reads almost like an action novel in exploring their lives and approaches to music and its marketing. -- Midwest Book Review
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
David Barber is a journalist, author, composer and performer who lives and works in Toronto.
Dave Donald works as an art director for a Toronto-based national magazine.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This funny book is a must for anyone interested in music.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bach, Beethoven, and the Boys: Music History As It Ought to Be Taught (Paperback)
David W. Barber is to music history what Victor Borge is to classical piano; both invigorate their subject with fresh humor and insight. This book is a wonderfully funny look at classical music, and it is all true! Read this book and you will know that classical music is not the stuffed shirt that many believe it to be. Barber's history is especially humorous for musicians and the musically savvy. One gets the impression that Barber has waded through many scholarly works to pull out these gems of information. It is easy to distinguish between the information and the embellishments, making this a perfect companion to any hard working music student. The illustrations by Dave Donald compliment the text perfectly and are also good likenesses of the composers. The text begins with a painless history of Gregorian Chant and proceedes through 20th Century music, discussing all of the big composers and the major movements in music history. I wholeheartedly recommend this! book to the musically educated and those who want to be.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
music history with humour,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bach, Beethoven and the Boys - Tenth Anniversary Edition!: Music History As It Ought To Be Taught (Paperback)
A relatively concise history of Western music with quite a lot of comic flair. One also learns about aspects of Western culture one may have forgotten: such as, that musicians were commonly supported in Europe by their patrons who were wealthy dukes or had other hereditary claims. Also I learned that Handel visited Italy spent the latter part of his life in London and grew quite wealthy; that Bach was happily married but never wealthy, and that he lived in many different German cities; that Mozart was not rich at all;that Haydn visited London; that Tchaikovsky was prone to nervous ailments. In the course of reading this book I borrowed the following CD's which assisted me in my understanding, as well as being enjoyable listening: Schumann's "Songs For Children"; Tchaikowsky's "Symphony #6 (Pathetique)", several Beethoven piano sonatas including the Appassionata and Pathetique, Handel's "Water Music"; Mozart's opera overtures, Haydn's "Surprise" and "Military" symphonies.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for quick understanding of the famed musicians,
This review is from: Bach, Beethoven and the Boys - Tenth Anniversary Edition!: Music History As It Ought To Be Taught (Paperback)
I received this book from my violin teacher when I was about 8 years old or so, and when I read this book it really helped me to quickly understand the lives behind the music I was playing. The book also had a great sense of humor, and was easy to understand but also not overly simple.
It's a great way to have fun and learn about the great classical musicians, and also for a musician like myself to learn early on about the composers who wrote the music that I now play.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
ALTHOUGH THE ANCIENT GREEKS had a thing or two to say about music, and before that prehistoric Man probably hummed some sort of mastodon-hunting song as he set off from his cave each morning, music history as we know it is usually said to have begun with Gregorian chant, on the theory that it had to start somewhere. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Vaughan Williams, Johann Sebastian, Chapel Royal, Donna Maria, Anna Maria, Henry Purcell, New York, The Mighty Five, Johann Ambrosius, Johann Christoph, Queen Anne New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
ALTHOUGH THE ANCIENT GREEKS had a thing or two to say about music, and before that prehistoric Man probably hummed some sort of mastodon-hunting song as he set off from his cave each morning, music history as we know it is usually said to have begun with Gregorian chant, on the theory that it had to start somewhere. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Vaughan Williams, Johann Sebastian, Chapel Royal, Donna Maria, Anna Maria, Henry Purcell, New York, The Mighty Five, Johann Ambrosius, Johann Christoph, Queen Anne New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 29
books:
See all 29 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- The Rite of Spring (Dover Miniature Music Scores) by Igor Stravinsky in Front Matter, and page 129
- Swan Lake by Margot Fonteyn on page 116
- Measure for Measure (Signet Classics) by William Shakespeare on page 86
- The Queen of Spades (Pique Dame): Vocal Score (G. Schirmer Opera Score Editions) by Newmarch on page 116
- The Last of the Mohicans (Bantam Classics) by James Fenimore Cooper on page 100
See all 29 books this book cites
- Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull in Back Matter
- The Young Musician's Survival Guide: Tips from Teens & Pros by Amy Nathan in Back Matter
- Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull in Back Matter
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
