Customer Reviews

WHO'S AFRAID OF CLASSICAL MUSIC? : A highly arbitrary and thoroughly opinionated guide to listening to and enjoying symphony, opera and chamber music

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first read this book when I was 15, 10 long years ago as I was getting into classical music. Years later I was delighted to discover that it is still in print. It is a great introduction to classical music, a "pre" dummies book that does not talk down to the novice. Although the technical explanations could have been a bit better, it does not distract from the main message: the music is what is important, not the famous name who performs it. A good introduction to help one along the way to classical music, not just a list of famous names who perform even more famous music.

I first read this book early in high school just as I was discovering classical music. Not only is it funny and informative, it gives you ways to branch out and discover things on your own. (The author even puts a "if you like X then try Y" chart in the appendix!) It was my first introduction to the opera (I am now an avid opera-goer). Not for a moment does Walsh leave you confused or disoriented -- he is a guide in the truest sense of the word! My only criticism is that it is now a little out of date.

This is a good light intro if you're curious about classical music but have yet to "take the plunge," or if you have a friend in a similar situation. I'd recommend "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music" by Jan Swafford more than this, but this is a pleasant-enough book and a good breezy intro. Occasionally Walsh forgets who he's talking to and goes off on a tangent that only a more seasoned classical person might get something from, and there are a few small errors, but what book doesn't have these? I disagree with some of his recommendations and find his tastes a little mainstream, but he's the first to admit his opinions are hos own and oftentimes arbitrary at that. Also, while he compares Schubert to the Beatles with a straight face (this seems to be the rage in academia these days) he examines only the songs. The Beatles never produced anything approaching Death and the Maiden or the String Quintet or the "Unfinished" Symphony, but he does not deal with this, focusing on the songs instead (where I'm still not convinced). More critically, there are some major pieces and movements he simply glosses over ("If you like these works, check out Beethoven's late string quartets or piano sonatas," without further discussion of the works or why they're important) and other lesser works he spends too much time with--could it be his own personal familiarity and lack of? He also raised my eyebrows with a few tossed-off comments, my favorite being, regarding Beethoven's string quartets, "These works are more respected than loved." (Really!?) --Still, this is a fun book that can get a newcomer deeply immersed in real classical music (not crossover crap or "lite classics for dinnertime") without intimidating them. He's also good at aquainting the reader with classical terminology ("Adadio," "sonata form," "fugue") in an unintimidating manner, though why people find it intimidating when they are capable of learning all sorts of arcane things about football or the stock market or html is a mystery to me.

This is a very good introduction to classical music. It's also very unconventional--it's not one of those books whose primary recommmendations are Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the Nutrcacker, Pachebel's Canon etc. As Walsh says, he's trying to get you to love music, not appreciate it. Sometimes, yes, he does forget who his audience is and throws out a couple terms or names without explaining them (e.g. "scherzo" or Rossini), and his recommendations are, to say the least, electic--his first recommended opera is Berg's Wozzeck, and in the symphonic repetiore he skips, say, Haydn and Tchaikovksy entirely, and includes Ives and Messiaen. But this makes the book more unique and mind-opening, and means you can still read it even if you already know something about classical music. Walsh also includes a few biographical chapters about Bach, Mozart, Wagner etc., and a very interesting (but one of the most confusing) one about modern American composers. He discusses the problems with classical music today, such as the seemingly closed-circle repetoire and gap between composers and audience. In short, a very good introductory book that can give pleasure even for a more learned person than Walsh is writing for. (By the way, Walsh does indeed discuss the Beethoven sonatas and quartets, and his "more respected than loved" comment only refers to the Op. 18 quartets.)

This is the book that got me most interested in Classical Music. It's a pretty funny and irreverent book at times, but most importantly, its opinionated. Walsh inspires the reader to form his own opinions as to what they like and don't like. Rather than fawn over everything, he argues passionately in either direction. He treats music as art, not as religious artifact.

As I began reading Walsh's book, I found it's introduction clever,entertaining,and often amusing. It was a pleasant change from the more technical and dry classical music guides I had come across. If Walsh could have maintained this lightness of tone while introducing the reader to essential information he would have had quite the book. However, after a few chapters I was disappointed to discover that the substance never came...just page after page of fluff with the occasional fact tossed in. In my opinion, this book (already relatively small at 212 pages) could safely be condensed into about a 100 pages of actual content. Perhaps the most disappointing part of Who's Afraid of Classical Music is the "Basic Repertoire" section in which he reviews the pieces he feels that a classical music listener should be aware of. These reviews often consist of no more than a few descriptive adjectives and some filler...nothing that is of any use in truly guiding the listening process. A perfect example is the review of Sibelius' Symphony no.2... "the second symphony is a great big shaggy dog- a great big,noisy, shaggy dog. But it's a real bodice ripper and conductors love it." Nothing about that review gives the listener any valuable insight..just a vague picture of the symphonys content. The other reviews (with the exception of a rare few) aren't much better. For one seriously interested in gaining knowledge about classical music I would suggest " The Enjoyment of Music" by Kristine Forney and Joseph Machlis. While it may not be as witty and lively as Walsh's book it makes up for it in the sheer quality of its content and the knowledge an interested reader can gain from it.

I enjoyed this book and still refer to its recommendations for music to listen to. Walsh's recommendations are not always the obvious warhorses and popular pieces; rather they are truly insightful and inspired choices that dig deep into the classical repertoire. For example, instead of recommending Beethoven's most popular 5th Piano Concerto (the famous "Emperor" concerto), he suggests the 4th instead, a piece which I also find to be a much more profoundly moving and enduring.

However, you have to put up with Walsh's constant attempts at irreverent humor, which I found tiresome and somewhat irritating.

I've also purchased "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music" by Jan Swafford and "Classical Music" by Phil Goulding. The former is an excellent introduction that is easy-to-read while being very educational about music history and major musical concepts as well. Its approach is more straightforward than the Walsh book, which is highly opinionated and idiosynchratic. Both books are worth getting and they are complementary to each other.

Goulding's book is the weakest of the three. It is not bad, but is more of a synthesis of conventional wisdom rather than a reflection of the author's own views and tastes. It tends to simplify a lot, but is presented in a very clear, easy-to-navigate format. If you already have the other two books, you can pass on this one.

This book, though by nature opinionated at times, is a very good look into classical music as something other than the sacred form it has taken. My favorite parts of the book look at composers not as demi-gods, but people. An amusing chart in the back lists major composers with their main vices! A joy to read, for sure.

This is a highly readable, funny, interesting and technically impeccable account of the world of classical music for the laypeople and the aficionados alike. It has helped me become an active listener, a passionate concert & opera goer, and entirely respected in my musical judgement by my brother the conservatory pianist. Buy it. The only reasons why I do not give it top marks are: the technical explanations are not very clear (if you get technical, get technical, not shy-technical, ok Mike?) and the recommendations for specific works may be too daring for the uninitiated ("Lulu" for beginners??!!), but then the author lives in New York City (and so do I). I loved "Lulu", by the way.

I wanted this book for a class that I was taking on classical music. It is a fun book to read and puts classical music on a much lighter scale. I received the book within a week of placing the order and it was in excellent coondition.