Customer Reviews

Essays and Diversions (v. 2)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In addition to being a composer and music professor, Robin Holloway is a noted writer on music, both for a relatively popular audience, as in his regular column in the British right-of-center magazine "The Spectator", and for more academic studies. This volume includes both, although leaning considerably more towards the popular writings that don't necessarily require a high technical background in music. He certainly is not shy about expressing his opinions, such as his low opinion of Shostakovich as vastly overrated because of the political circumstances of the composer's life, and his dismissal of Schoenberg, but also on the positive side, speaking up for Franz Schmidt (to the point of a somewhat questionable remark about Schmidt's final work, left unfinished at his death). His analysis of individual pieces, such as particular operas (Wagner's "Twilight of the Gods" and "Parsifal", Richard Strauss' "Capriccio" and "Salome), certainly provide much material and ideas to consider, as do his essays on composers, the latter often tied to a then-anniversary. He does indulge in wordplay and mannered word coinage at times, which can be occasionally distracting. Overall, however, Holloway provides plenty of musical food for thought.