A History of Western Music (Eighth Edition) [Hardcover]

J. Peter Burkholder (Author), Donald Jay Grout (Author), Claude V. Palisca (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393931250 | ISBN-13: 978-0393931259 | Publication Date: January 30, 2009 | Edition: Eighth Edition

The Eighth Edition of A History of Western Music is a vivid, accessible, and richly contextual view of music in Western culture.

Building on his monumental revision of the Seventh Edition, Peter Burkholder has refined an inspired narrative for a new generation of students, placing people at the center of the story. The narrative of A History of Western Music naturally focuses on the musical works, styles, genres, and ideas that have proven most influential, enduring, and significant—but it also encompasses a wide range of music, from religious to secular, from serious to humorous, from art music to popular music, and from Europe to the Americas. With a six-part structure emphasizing the music’s reception and continued influence, Burkholder’s narrative establishes a social and historical context for each repertoire to reveal its legacy and its significance today.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Peter Burkholder is Distinguished Professor of Musicology at Indiana University. He is the author of previous editions of A History of Western Music, the Norton Anthology of Western Music, and the Study and Listening Guide. In addition, he has written or edited four books on Charles Ives and has written numerous articles on topics spanning from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Journal of Musicology, Musical Quarterly, 19th-Century Music, Music Theory Spectrum, and other journals. He has served as President, Vice President, and Director-at-Large of the American Musicological Society and on the board of the College Music Society, and his writings have received awards from the American Musicological Society, Society for American Music, and ASCAP.

Donald Jay Grout, late professor of music at Cornell University, also wrote a standard history of opera.


Claude V. Palisca, late professor of music at Yale University, began his collaboration on A History of Western Music with the Third Edition. Among his many publications are a history of Baroque music and a collection of scholarly essays on Italian Renaissance music.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 986 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Eighth Edition edition (January 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393931250
• ISBN-13: 978-0393931259
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > History & Criticism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good but a little uneven and confusing, January 30, 2010

By 

James H. Waters "curious neuropsychologist" (boulder colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of Western Music (Eighth Edition) (Hardcover)

i'm just a neuropsychologist who is interested in music - very interested, but not a formal student or teacher. I've studied clarinet, piano, recorder in some detail... I got this for an overview and general grounding, and also in the hopes of being able to obtain a good deal of detail when i wanted it. for the most part it does both, but, as to the latter - depth/detail - some things are covered in great detail and others in what i would call a cursory manner, with a couple sentences. In some cases, i myself know there is much more easily available, just from my lifetime of perusing liner notes, watching PBS or listening to NPR, the occasional book, and other ways of learning about music. Of course, the editors/writers had to pick and choose, but i just think some areas are under-represented; the book is already big so there would be little downside to it being even half again bigger. Maybe i just hoped for more because i already knew what was in there. My background is admittedly uneven.

My major complaint, however, which probably should prompt even more "points" knocked off the rating, is that there are accompanying materials - the written/graphic "anthology" and the "recorded" anthology, both of which i would like to get, but they are expensive and it is VERY (!!!!) difficult to determine exactly which of each of these really goes with the 8th edition i got. Everything seems to have different editions, and there are the "lite" version (something like 6 cds) and the "complete" version (like 15 cds or something), i think of both. the reason to be sure is that in the margin there are (very helpful) indications where in the written/graphic and in the recorded anthology you can find the score (written/graphic) or music (recorded) materials that are being discussed. If you pick a certain instance of this, then try to go where you might order the written or recorded anthology - guess what! - you do not immediately find anything that looks right. Not to mention that i believe on the Norton site the current edition of the history itself is - or was last month - the 7th edition. I just don't see the reason for all this chaos and confusion. Once they get it figured out and clear, i will be buying, because it is good material, but this is almost like dealing with Microsoft! Why not say, 8th edition history goes with 5th edition "lite" cds, or something - in a chart?

If someone actually has found out what to buy, or somehow bought the right thing by chance, you are probably giving this 5 stars (because i'm sure it's great), and probably you think i am nuts. If so, how about tipping me off - what are the specifics (name and edition#) for the complete written and recorded anthologies that go with the book, 8th edition?

JHW

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the standard for Music History, June 18, 2011

By 

Charles J. Taraboletti (Bartlesville, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of Western Music (Eighth Edition) (Hardcover)

A previous (I think 6th Edition) was my music history text book at Illinois State University in 75-78. Grout seems to be THE recognized author for college music majors. Some of the reviewers seem to have missed the historic connection of the Church (read hear the Catholic Church) and most music prior to the 17th Century. Like today, there was popular song, very little of which was written down, and there was serious music (read mostly Church music here).

It's still an excellent music resource and I consult the book regularly. Get a copy.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Agree with curious neuropsychologist, October 13, 2010

By 

Reviewer "Reviewer" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of Western Music (Eighth Edition) (Hardcover)

My biggest complaint is that it is not mentioned anywhere that the 'anthology' editions lag behind the main text, so that it is very difficult to determine which goes with which, especially if you are ordering older editions. Also, it seems that the author might be Catholic? In the 'chant' section, the text seems to go into way more detail on the structure and purpose of Catholic ceremony than is necessary to discuss the music. The text also frequently contains sentences like 'Plainchant is musical prayer, heightened speech that unifies the faithful through melody and rhythm in the articulation of devout thoughts'. In my opinion, it detracted from the text and made a difficult section more so by superfluous information.

Other than that, its pretty good, though the writing style was confusing to me at times.