Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics [Hardcover]

Norman Lebrecht (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

Offers a start-to-finish history of classical music, explaining how the twentieth century has reached a radical tranformation period in which orchestras have become out of reach to most people, left only to the elite who can afford their exorbitant ticket prices."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A sequel of sorts to The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power, Who Killed Classical Music? continues British author and critic Norman Lebrecht's version of the saga of how presenting classical music evolved from the (at least ostensible) nurturing of art into a brutal and fairly sleazy business. Lebrecht finds plenty of heads on which to heap the blame, and more than a few minor deities are toppled from their thrones. He's not always altogether accurate in the small details, but he's eminently readable and he's got the big picture dead on. Like its predecessor, this is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of classical music.

From Library Journal

Shocking! Revealing! Frightening! These cliches from the promoter's vernacular may not be associated with most studies of art music, but they fit this expose of the dirty underside of the classical music world, first published in Britain in 1996 as When the Music Stops. A music writer for the Sunday Times and other publications, Lebrecht believes that the less-than-artistic motives and dealings of present-day star performers, managers, and corporate owners are ruining the art. He presents hard evidence of massive corruption and artistic sell-out in all facets of the field and charts the resultant decline in audience interest. He pulls no punches, naming and pointing his finger at the culprits. The writing is hard-hitting and engaging, although his apocalyptic view is ultimately depressing. Highly recommended.?Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 455 pages
• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559724153
• ISBN-13: 978-1559724159
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writer makes sense of chaotic field, February 4, 2006

By 

L. Rosenstiel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics (Hardcover)

Behind the media hype surrounding this or that performance or artist lie byzantine machinations. Kingmakers jockeying for position. Sexual politics. Mean actions taken by smallminded people temporarily in power. Some of mediocre talent are practically beatified while others with extraordinary gifts seem to wither away almost unnoticed. Sometimes it's a question of whose side the critics are on at any given moment or who has gotten more press--or even who requires fewer retakes in the recording studio, since that means the production will cost less. Lebrecht tells you all about the backroom ugliness that helps to create the uneven playing field that serious musicians find such an impediment to their survival. Although it requires some background from the reader, this book is a must-read for everyone interested in classical music!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the Answers, August 21, 2003

By 

bill runyon (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics (Hardcover)

Here is the one book that needs to be read by anyone genuinely
curious about what has caused the decline in interest in classical music worldwide.
The situation is probably worse in the US than other places, but
there are world-wide trends at work, and this author explores
all the causes. Not only does he explore those causes in our
own time, he has reseached the history of the recording industry
to such an extent, you feel at times like you are reading a
scholarly publication. Then at other times, where the author
actually names some of the names who have caused the decline
of classical music and who cause this type music to be held in
contempt by many, and abandoned by most others, you have the feel of reading a supermarket tabloid.
The writer has researched all the pioneers in recording and radio, and he has seemingly interviewed all survivors of that
era, as well as most participants in the current music scene,
and there doesn't appear to be a stone unturned in his work.
Many of the names will be unfamiliar to most readers, but the
writer documents their contribution to both the rise and decline
of classical music.
And, as said, he actually names the names of some of the individual "stars" who have so abused the system, and the public
trust, we have to wonder who in the world continues supporting
such grasping, selfish, egomanical performers and agents, as
well as some of the corporate owners and sponsors. He even at
one point names the world-famous conductor who apparently abuses
children in his travels, and it's a wonder such a man can even
cross international borders. Such is the power of stardom, even
in the world of classical music.
As you can see, there are a multitude of causes for the decline
of classical music, and this writer names them all.
There is very little hope for the continuation of the presentaton of live concerts of any kind, outside the very largest cities, which are put on for the rich and elite, so the
result is rather a somber review, but the author only presents
the facts.
However, there is slight hope, and he names the handful of
alternatives that seem to be surviving, and sometimes expanding,
the availability of good classical music.
This has to be a "must" for anyone interested in either the history of classical music, and its ties with radio and the
recording industry, or in its future.
There is almost too much detail for some readers, but it needs
to be there for a full understanding; in spite of the depth of
the writer's research, he presents it in an interesting fashion,
and there are many parts of the book which are very difficult to
put down.
If interested in this subject, rush out and get a copy now.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST BOOK TO DATE ON THE BUSINESS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC, January 11, 2000

By 

Ron Simpson (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics (Hardcover)

If you've watched the two-decade evolution in pop music industry exposé books-going from general veiled accusations and using pseudonyms, to the hard- hitting journalistic romps that are being written today, naming names, dates, companies, and places-then you'll appreciate the HIT MEN of the classical world, Norman Lebrecht's WHO KILLED CLASSICAL MUSIC, which, while it may not name vulnerable artist names in all the damning anecdotal situations in which Lebrecht places them, does explore the life and business of classical music in an alert, candid, and yet affectionate way, naming companies, managers, artists, salaries, and even top-echelon concert fees. Readers who may follow classical record-business entrepreneurship will be glad to find that the great independent- label success stories of our era, such as Naxos and Hyperion, are very much a part of Lebrecht's consciousness and research. There are no clear-cut classes of heroes and villains here, just a general sense of regret and fatigue about the current state of business in the classical world. Ron Simpson, School of Music, Brigham Young University. Author of MASTERING THE MUSIC BUSINESS