Cambridge Music Handbooks

[orbital]

What do you think of these series?

I have only a couple of them: Chopin's PC's and the Ballades, and I find them quite useful for uninitiated music lovers like myself who want to have a deeper understanding of the music without being able to read the scores proficiently (this is a paradox right there  )

I had not looked at the Chopin PC's book in depth, but after the brief discussions about the merits/shortcomings of the orchestration of these pieces, I wanted to have a better idea. I do have the score for the e minor concerto, but unfortunately I don't have enough music theory knowledge to make sense of an orchestral score. So what I did is I got a high quality midi file of the Allegro, different parts of the orchestra assigned to different channels, and one that caters to the dynamic markings.

I have a high quality midi bank with orchestral sounds, so the overall sound was bad but not unbearable. Also, the midi file was preprogrammed to match the bar numbers of the score so it was quite easy to follow up on what the book was saying about particular passages. Where the book asks the listener to pay attention to a particular motif, it is easy to just scroll through the sequencer to arrive at that bar and see what parts of the orchestra are doing. I can even slow down the section without touching the pitch. So in the end it was quite useful.

Now, I want to do similar analysis with other orchestral pieces, and I would like to ask, if you are familiar with these Cambridge series which books would you recommend?

[hornteacher]

I love the series.  Some passages are a bit clinical, but the books are VERY comprehensive in analyzing not only the music itself, but also the background, historical circumstances of composition, modern relevance, and recording history.

My favorites so far are:

Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Holst's Planets
Bach's Brandenbergs

I plan to purchase more at some point when I get the cash.

[bhodges]

Now, I want to do similar analysis with other orchestral pieces, and I would like to ask, if you are familiar with these Cambridge series which books would you recommend?

Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the Cambridge series.  I have a few of the Phaidon books which are also excellent, e.g., the one on Schnittke.  As an aside, a great resource for orchestral works is Michael Steinberg's The Symphony: A Listener's Guide. 



--Bruce

[Gurn Blanston]

I have these:

Haydn's Op 50 String Quartets
Beethoven's 9th Symphony

In both cases I bought the Dover score along with the handbook. I already had several recording each of the music. It was the most valuable exercise in self-directed music learning that I have done. I plan on doing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto the same way.



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Now playing: Haydn Fey 6 - Heidelberg SO / Fey - Hob 01 058 Symphony #058 in F 4th mvmt - Finale: Presto - 12

[orbital]

I love the series.  Some passages are a bit clinical, but the books are VERY comprehensive in analyzing not only the music itself, but also the background, historical circumstances of composition, modern relevance, and recording history.

My favorites so far are:

Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Holst's Planets
Bach's Brandenbergs

I plan to purchase more at some point when I get the cash.

Thank you, and yes! They also have the published criticisms of the pieces, a great help in seeing the music in its proper historical perspective. I'll investigate those you mentioned. The Mozart and the Brandenburgs, since I am more familiar with than others, may be a good starting point.

As an aside, a great resource for orchestral works is Michael Steinberg's The Symphony: A Listener's Guide. 


--Bruce

I have that book. I did not check it for this purpose, but maybe I should. Thank you.