A Guide to Orchestral Music: The Handbook for Non-Musicians

This is probably the best guide about orchestral music I've ever come across. The author's style is familiar, accessible, and enjoyable. He also does not try to impress his opinions on the reader (though he does allow himself to vent his feelings about suites drawn from operas).I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to become familar with classical music.

This book is probably the best introduction to classical music I have come across. The author never condescends to the reader and speaks in a language that nurtures interest and enthusiasm in a world waiting to be discovered. There is a brief history of each composer that puts the music in historical context and is followed by a description of the major works with clues to listen for in enjoying the music. I find the program notes included with recorded music tend to be written for listeners who already have a moderate to advanced knowledge of classical music. Mordden seems to remember when he was a "beginner listener" and has shown the path leading into an exciting world just waiting to be discovered.

I was consulting this book again, today. The edges of thepages are starting to get a little worn from thumbing.I find it consistently more interesting and more helpful than the typical CD program notes, and has the great advantage of guiding you toward other works by the same composer. _Very_ complete. If you're looking for "a book on classical music" for yourself or as a gift, this is a good candidate. Covers about 700 works by 80 composers--every classical composer _I've_ heard of-- and the notes strike a good balance between the "received wisdom" and Mordden's own opinions. Idiosyncratic transliterations of some composers' names (he spells Tschaikowsky "Chaikofsky."