Authoritative, beautifully written guide presents 231 of the most frequently performed pieces of chamber music by 55 composers. For each, the author gives a brief biography, followed by discussions of the individual compositions — both their historical and musical contexts and their salient features, including formal organization, content, and any extramusical associations. Preface. Glossary.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
A collection of more than 230 program notes of chamber music composed by 55 composers. The author is himself an enthusiastic chamber music musician and program annotator. Typically, he offers a biography of each composer followed by descriptive notes about each composition. The text is generally readable, though not penetrating; the book will appeal primarily to the casual listener rather than to the student or musician. Berger has managed to find subtitles nobody knew existed: one wonders if any real service is performed by listing "Werther" as a subtitle for the Brahms Piano Quartet Op. 60. Recommended, with reservations, for public libraries with record collections. William Shank, CUNY Graduate Sch. Lib.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Publisher
This comprehensive, analytical, and historical guide is designed to help music lovers--from casual listeners to experienced concertgoer--deepen their understanding and enhance their enjoyment of chamber music.
--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 Author
Prize-winning author, Melvin Berger, believes that science should always be fun. In his books - he has written over 200! - and in his talks to young people, he stresses the excitement of science and the thrill of scientific discovery.
He also believes in a hands-on approach to science for young people. Many of his books are full of interesting, informative, and easy-to-do activities and experiments.
His great enthusiasm for science spills over into Mr. Berger's hobby of collecting old scientific instruments. In his collection is everything from 18th century microscopes to an ancient chinese opium balance.
Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Berger has earned degrees from the University of Rochester, Columbia University, and London (England) University. In 1983, he was elected to the New York Academy of Sciences. Over the years he has won awards from the Children's book Council, National Science Teachers Association, Child Study Association, Library of Congress, and New York Public Library. He lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with his wife, Gilda, who is also an author.
He also believes in a hands-on approach to science for young people. Many of his books are full of interesting, informative, and easy-to-do activities and experiments.
His great enthusiasm for science spills over into Mr. Berger's hobby of collecting old scientific instruments. In his collection is everything from 18th century microscopes to an ancient chinese opium balance.
Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Berger has earned degrees from the University of Rochester, Columbia University, and London (England) University. In 1983, he was elected to the New York Academy of Sciences. Over the years he has won awards from the Children's book Council, National Science Teachers Association, Child Study Association, Library of Congress, and New York Public Library. He lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with his wife, Gilda, who is also an author.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A well-written guide to SOME major chamber works,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Guide to Chamber Music (Paperback)
The primary audience of this guide is the classical music fan who has limited musical knowledge but a keen interest in learning chamber music in more depth and following the form and details within each movement. For each work, Berger presents a brief but quite interesting historical prelude, followed by 'play-by-play' highlights of each movement as to its structure, harmony patterns and distinguishing features. While each description is not long, there is enough condensed information to give a definate sense to the flow of the piece and what makes it unique. I really admire Berger's writing style that is engaging, creative and says a lot in a few words. Also, his prose are not overly "flowery," intimidating or condesending. Also included is the brief but excellent glossary at the end which contains really clear definitions of key musical terms encountered in chamber music.
Overall, this guide should be a staple in the library of the chamber enthusiast and it is inexpensive as well. It is my most used guide out of many. Musicians too can benefit from this book as an intro to some works but it will not likely satisfy them with enough details as to the score. While a healthy amount (or all) of each composer's chamber works are represented in this volume, the sonatas (for one or two instruments) are not. These are covered in a different book by Berger: "Guide to the Sonatas," which unfortunately is a very short book that tends to leave one wanting for more descriptions and details. But, what is here in this book is quite good. Berger gives wonderful, in-depth coverage of most major works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn and Schubert, but much less for "minor" composers like Dvorak, Faure, Ravel and others. Hard to fit too much into a small paperback I guess. What many of us would love to see who greatly enjoy Berger's skilled commentary is ONE DEFINITIVE BOOK on the entire (or at least most of) chamber-music repertoire - combining this book, his tiny, rather-superficial book on the Sonatas and expand it into a new major edition. Then, we would have a volume for the ages.
3.0 out of 5 stars
like program notes in a cd or record.,
By Steve Rogers (Azur, Israel) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Guide to Chamber Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)
Basically program notes for a number of chamber works - I purchased it as most of my music is streamed and I don't have CD or record covers to hand. It tells you a bit about the background to works and points out themes and developments - it is OK and can give you a leg up in understanding the structure of the music you are listening to. I can't say it goes very deep or teaches you how to listen.
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best available,
By A Customer
This review is from: Guide to Chamber Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)
As far as we know, this is the best available book of commentary on standard repertoire of chamber music. It is also terrific - gives a little relevant biographical information on composers as well as notes on the works. Useful to look at before hearing a performance of a work, and great material (when combined with other sources) for writing program notes.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Citations (learn more)
3
books
cite this book:
- Is There a Single Right Interpretation? (Studies of the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium) by Michael Krausz on page 245
- The Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family by Joan Kennedy in Back Matter
- The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet (Cambridge Companions to Music) by Robin Stowell in Back Matter
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
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
