This guide to classical music serves as a musical introduction, reference work and CD guide. This work is designed to be of interest to those seeking to broaden their knowledge of, and thereby increase their pleasure in, classical music. With a particular emphasis on the now-fashionable early music, and contemporary composers such as John Tavener and Arvo Part, this guide deals with each musical form - early music, the symphony, the concerto and so on - chronologically, in a reader-friendly, accessible style, avoiding technical terms where possible and explaining them where necessary. Each chapter has a lively discography giving an overview of the best CDs on the market, with special emphasis on value-for-money discs - indispensable for those building up a classical collection from scratch.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Not Recommended for a Beginner.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Virgin Guide to Classical Music (Paperback)
This book is meant to be a beginner's guide to Classical music. In this capacity, I feel it fails. Beadle's guide is highly opinionated, and I strongly recommend that it be read with this in mind. The lack of any mention of Aaron Copland, one of the most popular and beloved composers of the twentieth century, is a travesty and shows a general prententiousness towards American music in general. Beadle knows what he likes and knows what he doesn't, and makes sure his reader is aware of it. This is not a book for the uninitiated, as Beadle's narrow opinion leads him to dismiss far too much great music, especially with regards to American music.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed but fun and useful,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Virgin Guide to Classical Music (Paperback)
This book provides a short history of classical music from earliest times to the 1990s. It also recommends recordings of key works with annotations. The main problem with this highly readable work is its wild English bias (not unusual as readers of the Penguin CD Guide wil know). American music is hardly mentioned - no Copland, no Ives - and Gershwin works like Rhapsody In Blue and Porgy and Bess are dismissed. Meanwhile obscure British works are championed in loving detail. There are other surprising omissions, like Rimsky-Korsakov, and Australian music is also absent. All in all, worthwhile, but proceed with caution.
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