Customer Reviews

The Virgin Guide to Classical Music

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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.

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.