In this informal and informative guide, Rudel leads listeners through the 40 most essential and popular compositions from the Four Seasons to Rhapsody in Blue, explaining the musical structure of each passage and highlighting special themes or elements to listen for as the music continues.
Classical Music Top 40
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For the classical music lover who wants to become a listener,
By
This review is from: Classical Music Top 40: Learn How To Listen To And Appreciate The 40 Most Popular And Important Pieces I (Paperback)
I have been a classical music lover for some years but I knew there was more that I could learn. I was familiar with the general history of the subject and had read a CD collecting guide. However, I wanted to know more about individual pieces of music and how to listen to them instead of just hear them. Then I found this book and it "hit the spot." The author gives the reader/listener a guided tour through forty pieces of classical music. Whether they are actually the "most popular and important" pieces is questionable, especially as to Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, but they are all wonderful works. Most are instrumental, but the book includes Handel's Messiah and Orff's Carmina Burana. They also have the benefit of spanning the spectrum of styles from baroque to modern. The pieces are arranged alphabetically, but I suggest starting with the programmatic pieces such as Smetana's Moldau, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and moving toward the more abstract stuff such as Beethoven's Fifth, Brahm's First and Mahler's First. In order to follow the action as closely as possible you will need to have a watch you can reset, or to sit next to the CD player with the machine set to show time elapsed. The book provided two revelations. First, the music is full of subtleties of which I was unaware. Second, there are big differences in performances of the same piece. The most obvious difference is in whether repeats are observed or omitted. Highly recommended, and I hope Mr. Rudel will write another covering the next most popular forty.
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good reference, easy to follow and understand,
By A Customer
This review is from: Classical Music Top 40: Learn How To Listen To And Appreciate The 40 Most Popular And Important Pieces I (Paperback)
Let me begin by explining that I have limited musical experience or training. However I do enjoy classical/syphonic music. This book greatly aided in my appreciation of the 40 pieces of music the author explains. His explanations are thorough and written in plain english. However, he does say to listen for certain instruments that most untrained people would not know. Although limited, I do know something about music so that fact that did not effect me. All in all a good book for those sick of the radio and wanting to expand their music collection. Also, gives great cocktail party knowledge.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous,
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This review is from: Classical Music Top 40: Learn How To Listen To And Appreciate The 40 Most Popular And Important Pieces I (Paperback)
I love, love, love this book!!! I have been a music lover all my life, and I do know my instruments and technical terms. So I didn't have any trouble understanding the text and descriptions. But I have so much enjoyed following along as I listen to each piece again and again. Even I, who understands it, learned so much more from having read the descriptions. I have purchased all of the recordings that he recommends and have put them on my iPod, and I have enjoyed them immensely. Thank you so much for this excellent book.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The six concertos written by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) known as the Brandenburg Concertos, were composed between 1718 and 1721, then grouped together and presented by the composer to the margrave of Brandenburg on March 24, 1721. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
shimmering violins, violins launch, strings launch, reference recording, tortured quality, piano returns, basset horns, timpani roll, sustained phrases, strings establish, passing phrase, visceral excitement, initial melody, soprano clarinet, oboe solo, first violins, solo phrase, next solo, bassoon solo, mystery abounds, other wind instruments, occasional interjections, energy wanes, delicate melody, two bassoons Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, William Tell, Carmina Burana, Ninth Symphony, The Four Seasons, Appalachian Spring, The Rite of Spring, Violin Concerto, Water Music, Carnival of the Animals, Clarinet Quintet, Third Symphony, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Elvira Madigan, Ludwig van Beethoven, Middle Eastern, The Planets, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Danse Macabre, Franz Liszt, German Requiem, Hector Berlioz, Herbert Hoover, Victor Hugo New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The six concertos written by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) known as the Brandenburg Concertos, were composed between 1718 and 1721, then grouped together and presented by the composer to the margrave of Brandenburg on March 24, 1721. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
shimmering violins, violins launch, strings launch, reference recording, tortured quality, piano returns, basset horns, timpani roll, sustained phrases, strings establish, passing phrase, visceral excitement, initial melody, soprano clarinet, oboe solo, first violins, solo phrase, next solo, bassoon solo, mystery abounds, other wind instruments, occasional interjections, energy wanes, delicate melody, two bassoons Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, William Tell, Carmina Burana, Ninth Symphony, The Four Seasons, Appalachian Spring, The Rite of Spring, Violin Concerto, Water Music, Carnival of the Animals, Clarinet Quintet, Third Symphony, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Elvira Madigan, Ludwig van Beethoven, Middle Eastern, The Planets, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Danse Macabre, Franz Liszt, German Requiem, Hector Berlioz, Herbert Hoover, Victor Hugo New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 95
books:
See all 95 books this book cites
- The Four Seasons (Dover Miniature Music Scores) by Antonio Vivaldi on 4 pages
- Carmina Burana: Vocal Score by Hal Leonard Corporation on 4 pages
- The Barber of Seville (Black Dog Opera Library) by Gioacchino Rossini on page 271, page 276, and page 283
- Rossini Guillaume Tell (William Tell Overture) by Lionel Salter on page 272, page 275, and page 276
- The Magic Flute (The Black Dog Opera Library) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on page 161, page 216, and page 228
See all 95 books this book cites
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