The NPR Classical Music Companion: Terms and Concepts from A to Z [Paperback]

Miles Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 1997

Do you enjoy classical music but wish you knew more about it? Do you buy CDs, tune in to radio programs, go to concerts, and sometimes wonder just what, precisely, all those Italian musical terms mean? In this wonderfully engaging guide, Miles Hoffman demystifies the terms and concepts of classical music in an accessible and witty style. With more than one hundred entries, The NPR Classical Music Companion delves into definitions and etymologies, explores terms with reference to famous composers and works, and calls upon amusing analogies to make sense of music's finer points. Ranging from a paragraph to a few pages, the explanations gathered here tackle both the familiar and the not so familiar, from " a cappella " to " motet," from " opus numbers " to " zarzuela." The result is a delightful and comprehensive assemblage. For anyone who thinks that only professional musicians can understand classical music, this guide offers a clear path through a potentially daunting world. As much a companion to keep by the radio as an enjoyable book to read in a few sittings, The NPR Classical Music Companion makes understanding music a pleasure.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ever wondered what makes a conductor good or bad, or why a guitar has frets? The NPR Classical Music Companion answers these questions and many more in its 130 entries, which tackle the complicated lexicon of classical music from a capella all the way through zarzuela. Author Miles Hoffman defines basic terms, forms, and concepts while tracing major movements, providing context, and offering illustrative examples from well-known composers and works. A commentator on NPR's popular classical music program Performance Today, Miles Hoffman writes about music with clarity, humor, and grace. The result is a highly readable reference geared, as Hoffman writes, for the "ordinary listener."

From Library Journal

Hoffman, host of National Public Radio's Coming to Terms, attempts to make classical music terminology more accessible to the lay reader. This slim book of roughly 100 definitions speaks to the novice, simplifying to the point of irritation those terms one might find on the average compact disc or concert program. More advanced listeners will continually think "yes, but..." while reading Hoffman. However, all readers will search in vain for substantive definitions. Although inexpensive, this work is available only in paperback and would probably have a short shelf life. Libraries would be better off purchasing the more scholarly general dictionaries, including Michael Kennedy's Oxford Dictionary of Music (Oxford Univ., 1994. 2d ed.) and Don M. Randel's New Harvard Dictionary of Music (1986).?Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; Trade (Third Edition) edition (August 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395707420
• ISBN-13: 978-0395707425
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,654,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Musical Training Wheels, July 5, 2001

By 

bibliomane01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The NPR Classical Music Companion: Terms and Concepts from A to Z (Paperback)

This book is just what the doctor ordered for musical neophytes like myself who are looking for an accessible but authoritative crash course in basic musical terminology. If the difference between pizzicato and pianissimo continues to elude you, then read on. Two aspects of this book are particularly appealing. The first is Libbey's style, which is free-flowing and chatty, conveying often difficult ideas with impressive clarity (the articles on counterpoint and fugue are cases in point). Secondly, I was impressed by his essay-style approach to his various musical subjects; unlike a musical dictionary, which would be content to stop at mere definition, Libbey's book provides background, explanations, examples and opinions that do much to round out the material in the reader's mind. An impressive work indeed!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is compulsively readable, witty, and learned., June 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The NPR Classical Music Companion: Terms and Concepts from A to Z (Paperback)

If you like music, you'll love this book! Imagine that a wise and talkative friend, who clearly loves music himself and has a sparkling sense of humor, has undertaken to patiently and clearly explain to you what musical terms mean and why they're important. The Classical Music Companion has the tone that that friendly, well-informed voice would take. This is a compulsively readable, well-organized, beautifully laid out work that can be approached on many levels - it's suitable for "laypeople" or musicians - and that never talks down to its audience. I read this book with great enjoyment and I recommend it wholeheartedly. It's a mandatory addition for the library of anyone who cares about music and wants to know more about its mysteries.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference tool and well written., June 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The NPR Classical Music Companion: Terms and Concepts from A to Z (Paperback)

Miles Hoffman's book is just as inventive and clever as his section "Coming to Terms" on NPR's Performance Today. His defintions are packed with information and witty commentary, necessitating its use for any classical music lover. For those in the business, or just those wanting to know more, Hoffman's guide is a must have because no other reference tool is as accessible or as clearly written. Suddenly, the lexicon of classical music is no longer out of reach, but instead understandable and affordable in this wonderful guide to terms.