Books on Classical Music : Recommending / Considering

Started by Papy Oli, June 03, 2007, 10:13:37 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

T. D.

Quote from: SimonNZ on December 08, 2022, 07:50:26 PM^while I was driving today I heard the host on the classical station talking about the poor reception Dvorak got in America for saying positive things about the future of black music.

...which I hadn't heard before today.

Have you read that book? Would you recommend it?

No, I haven't read it, but I intend to. Not a purchase, but will seek out through inter-library loan.

I recently read a favorable review on a weird music site I follow:

https://www.lafolia.com/dvoraks-prophecy-shostakovich-as-cure-and-beethoven-in-boston/

Scion7

Quote from: Dave B on December 01, 2022, 05:04:37 AMWhat biographies of Mozart would you recommend, ...

Another avenue you might want to explore is BBC's "Discovering Music" series, hosted by various chaps like Stephen Johnson, etc. - they will block you as you are coming from the USA, however, there are 'ways' around that.  I'll send you links to three audio files from the series for Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, Sinfonia Concertante and the Clarinet Concerto from the early 2000's.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

USMC1960s


Scion7

Quote from: Dave B on December 18, 2022, 07:12:42 AMThank you. Much appreciated.
Doesn't mean some of what they have to say isn't bullocks.   ;D
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

VonStupp

#164
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
M. T. Anderson
464 pgs.

Since I am doing a slow-burn through Shostakovich's symphonies after a period of neglect, I thought I would pick this up again.

I remember it being a strong read and a pleasant mix of political history and music. Perhaps I will pass it on to my daughter to read as well.
VS

"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

DavidW

A few days ago I started Swafford's Brahms.  But oh man his whole thing about "reading between the lines" makes me think that he is admitting in advance that he is going to make up a story for dramatic license.  Is this fiction or non-fiction?  I guess I'll have to see.

Karl Henning

Quote from: DavidW on January 07, 2024, 09:00:10 AMA few days ago I started Swafford's Brahms.  But oh man his whole thing about "reading between the lines" makes me think that he is admitting in advance that he is going to make up a story for dramatic license.  Is this fiction or non-fiction?  I guess I'll have to see.
Thanks for taking one for the team. I've meant forever to read his Ives book. Maybe this year?...
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Holden

Brian Crimp's biography of Solomon "Solo" makes for fascinating reading. Solomon was a 'wunderkind' and his treatment at the hands of his so called mentors describes what could be considered dark days in the classical music world. I suspect that a lot of it still goes on today.
Cheers

Holden

(poco) Sforzando

Quote from: Brian on October 11, 2022, 05:08:13 PMAny thoughts on the author Stephen Walsh? His new book, out this week, is advertised as a sweeping 400-page history of the risk takers and innovators of the romantic era.



Edit: just saw that San Antone had praise for his single-composer biographies a few pages ago.

"Sweeping" is a good description. He sweeps through so much so sweepingly that he barely has more than a few pages to say about any one composer. For an in-depth study of selected major figures in Romanticism (Chopin, Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt, a few others), I much prefer Charles Rosen's "The Romantic Generation," though he makes no mention of many significant composers such as Dvorak, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, etc.
"I don't know what sforzando means, though it clearly means something."

Karl Henning

Quote from: Brian on October 11, 2022, 05:08:13 PMAny thoughts on the author Stephen Walsh? His new book, out this week, is advertised as a sweeping 400-page history of the risk takers and innovators of the romantic era.



Edit: just saw that San Antone had praise for his single-composer biographies a few pages ago.
My reply is laughably delayed, but I finf his two-volume Stravinsky bio excellent.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Brian

Quote from: (poco) Sforzando on January 07, 2024, 01:51:23 PM"Sweeping" is a good description. He sweeps through so much so sweepingly that he barely has more than a few pages to say about any one composer. For an in-depth study of selected major figures in Romanticism (Chopin, Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt, a few others), I much prefer Charles Rosen's "The Romantic Generation," though he makes no mention of many significant composers such as Dvorak, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, etc.
Thanks! It sounds like Rosen is indeed focused on a single generation of composers born in a small timeframe, rather than the whole era?

(By the way, I saw your message about the Marriner Haydn; I just haven't gotten to pull the CD back out yet and reply properly.)

ritter

Quote from: Karl Henning on January 07, 2024, 02:10:22 PMMy reply is laughably delayed, but I finf his two-volume Stravinsky bio excellent.
+1...

(poco) Sforzando

Quote from: Brian on January 07, 2024, 02:57:49 PMThanks! It sounds like Rosen is indeed focused on a single generation of composers born in a small timeframe, rather than the whole era?

(By the way, I saw your message about the Marriner Haydn; I just haven't gotten to pull the CD back out yet and reply properly.)

Correct to your first paragraph. Walsh's book is not bad by any means; it covers a lot of essential information but is just kind of superficial since there's so much to cover. His bios on Debussy and Stravinsky are quite good too. Rosen on the other hand devotes three large chapters to Chopin alone, almost a book-within-a-book, and naturally is far more technical.

(Look forward to your reply on Marriner.)
"I don't know what sforzando means, though it clearly means something."

Henk

Quote from: Brian on October 11, 2022, 05:08:13 PMAny thoughts on the author Stephen Walsh? His new book, out this week, is advertised as a sweeping 400-page history of the risk takers and innovators of the romantic era.



Edit: just saw that San Antone had praise for his single-composer biographies a few pages ago.

Looks very good. Read the contents and a review on Amazon.

Mookalafalas



 I'm 2/3 of the way through this. It's a quick read. Unlike many conductor autobios, he doesn't have a writing collaborator. The writing is not bad at all, but I wish he'd worked with someone. It's kind of stuck between autobiography and what he claims in the intro--that it's a book that teaches how to become a conductor. He jumps from topic to topic rather randomly, more or less chronologically with his career. Way better than Solti's book, but I'm not sure I'll read anything else by him (I think he has two others).


  Compared to Slatkin, Mauceri's book is really well written and thoughtful, and is better focused. He does not rely on his memory, but brings in a fair amount of research to support his points, and knows how to structure and develop an argument. I'm only about a third of the way in, but so far so good.



  I think I mentioned this a couple years ago. It's a real hoot-- fun to read, and his observations and anecdotes really give a lot of insights into the business. A box set of his stuff just came out, so maybe it'll get a bit more attention. I'd be curious to see a "rebuttal" of some kind, though. According to him, he's a wonderful guy, but all the conductors he's worked with tried to screw him over. It might be true, but...
It's all good...

Mookalafalas

#175
Finished Slatkin, wich is definitely worthwhile. I suspect you will end up skimming the "instructions to would-be conductors" sections, but overall a nice read.

 Just binge-read this.


   He must have been about the busiest guy who ever lived. He always had about 6 irons in the fire--and most sound like serious gigs running active chamber groups, symphonies, educational programs, etc. He was actually a junior classmate of Slatkin at Julliard. In early 20's played trumpet with Stokowski before moving to NY PHil under Bernstein and Boulez. Retired from trumpet at 30 to do fulltime teaching and conducting. The first section is almost comically terse and direct. He was still green behind the ears, but then drop lines like "I used to chat a lot with Boulez after the concert, and once he told me..." In the mid-section it gets rather slow, and a lot of the writing is just listing the key works he conducted each year, soloists, etc. until it gets to how they got money to build a big, new, modern concert venue in Seattle, which was really interesting. Plenty of informative bits about conducting, of course.

And because I'm avoiding doing serious stuff, just started this.

    Just a few pages in, but writing seems more relaxed than in the earlier book.
It's all good...

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Mookalafalas on January 14, 2024, 02:10:13 AMFinished Slatkin, wich is definitely worthwhile. I suspect you will end up skimming the "instructions to would-be conductors" sections, but overall a nice read.

 Just binge-read this.


  He must have been about the busiest guy who ever lived. He always had about 6 irons in the fire--and most sound like serious gigs running active chamber groups, symphonies, educational programs, etc. He was actually a junior classmate of Slatkin at Julliard. In early 20's played trumpet with Stokowski before moving to NY PHil under Bernstein and Boulez. Retired from trumpet at 30 to do fulltime teaching and conducting. The first section is almost comically terse and direct. He was still green behind the ears, but then drop lines like "I used to chat a lot with Boulez after the concert, and once he told me..." In the mid-section it gets rather slow, and a lot of the writing is just listing the key works he conducted each year, soloists, etc. until it gets to how they got money to build a big, new, modern concert venue in Seattle, which was really interesting. Plenty of informative bits about conducting, of course.

And because I'm avoiding doing serious stuff, just started this.

    Just a few pages in, but writing seems more relaxed than in the earlier book.

After his years of accolades and success in Seattle he became Principal conductor or the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.  I have friends who were members of the band at that time.  By all accounts Schwarz was well-liked on a personal level but neither his conducting or more crucially his programming were a hit in Liverpool.  I seem to recall a programme repeated several times featuring a large Bruch choral work that lost the orchestra thousands.......

Mookalafalas

Quote from: Roasted Swan on January 14, 2024, 03:31:19 AMAfter his years of accolades and success in Seattle he became Principal conductor or the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.  I have friends who were members of the band at that time.  By all accounts Schwarz was well-liked on a personal level but neither his conducting or more crucially his programming were a hit in Liverpool.  I seem to recall a programme repeated several times featuring a large Bruch choral work that lost the orchestra thousands.......

  Yeah, he and Slatkin both were hired to be principal conductors in England, and both were given the boot relatively quickly (4 years for Slatkin, 5 for Schwarz). I believe Schwarz said that England premieres more new music (by local composers, I believe) than anywhere else in the world, but yeah, maybe they didn't like some of his choices. He did a lot of American stuff. He said that the administrative board that had hired him was mostly replaced for various reasons, so he lost his support.
It's all good...

Mookalafalas

Not just a good "music (auto)biography" but a good book, period. Hough can write, and has a distinctive style and voice. This only covers the early part of his life--through music school, so it's sort of a coming of age story.
It's all good...

SonicMan46

Has anyone seen this recent book as a physical copy? Published by Cambridge in the last few years and expensive - listed on Amazon as over 500 pages - MY INTEREST are the illustrations which I cannot determine from Amazon or the Cambridge website - in my mind a book of this type would require a LOT of great pics - can anyone help me decide on a purchase (now $36 paperback on Amazon but if I had $20 credit then a BUY!).  Thanks - Dave