The Rough Guide to Classical Music is the ideal handbook on the subject, spanning a thousand years of music from Gregorian chant via Bach and Beethoven to contemporaries such as Thomas Adès and Kaija Saariaho. Both a CD buyer's guide and a who's who, it features:
• Concise biographical profiles of more than 200 composers, explaining their social and musical contexts.
• Informative summaries of the major compositions in all genres, from chamber works to operatic epics.
• Incisive reviews of hundreds of CDs, selecting the very best of the latest recordings and the pick of the reissues, plus the lowdown on downloading.
• Engaging feature boxes on such topics as notation, conducting, the concerto and film music.
• More than 150 illustrations of composers and performers, including some rare archive photos. |
What The Press Say
This primer, now revised and expanded, is bursting with essential facts, neat asides and useful specialist features. Crisply, energetically written, with improved layout. - Classic FM magazine A WELCOME BEACON FOR THOSE ADRIFT AMONG THE AISLES OF CLASSICAL CDS…AND REFRESHINGLY NOT AFRAID TO MAKE OFFBEAT RECOMMENDATIONS - Billboard An excellent guide, spanning a thousand years of classical music, and the kind of companion that any music lover will want to keep near their CD collection as a reference work. - Musical Opinion Magazine Bottom line: the Rough Guide is perhaps the best general guide to mainstream classical music and selected recordings: recommended for all public libraries. - Library Journal Winning formula of pithy, biographical profiles, supplemented by succinct summaries of major works and micro-reviews of recommended recordings. . .refreshingly un-dictionary-like embrace of anecdote, opinion (occasionally provocative) and outright speculation. . .Still one of the best and most companionable guides around. - BBC Music Magazine |