Companion to Twentieth-Century Music

First off, I must tell you that, though you won't find a ready indication on the cover (well, not of my hardcover copy anyway), this is primarily and in fact 99% about classical music, musicians and composers. Yes, there are little write-ups about the Beatles and Elvis and slightly more substantial paragraphs on major jazz artists, but for the most part this is devoted to the significant, the major, the obscure and the really unheard-of classical composers who worked from 1900 to the 1980s. Lebrecht is pithy and curmudgeonly to a fault, though it livens up the essentially dull nature of an encyclopedic work; my biggest personal peeve is that he feels compelled to dredge up information about sex lives as often as possible, whether or not it seems to have significant impact on the personages in question. Sure, he agrees with the majority of critics that Benjamin Britten was likely the greatest English composer since Purcell; do we need to have more than a word or two in the short space he has to spend on his sexuality, however much it may have been in the gossip pages 50 years ago? And his sneering disdain for pop music is unwarranted also, I think. Clearly people reading this book are interested in classical music - brief remarks on those pop/rock stars who have influenced the musical world at large might be necessary, but he needn't alienate those of us who are under 70 and/or also appreciate non-"serious" music at times. Still, this is a useful little tome, with almost any composer you can think of mentioned, and plenty you haven't heard of; musicians and orchestras are also given some space, but most of the pages belong to Britten and Messiaen, Strauss and Puccini, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and the rest of the last century's great polyglot mix of traditionalism, romanticism, folksong, serialism, avant-garde and just outright weirdness.

If you are looking for a comprehensive and objective guide to this musical period, Grove would be a better choice. If you enjoy Lebrecht's columns on "La Scena Musicale," however, this book is highly entertaining. Lebrecht is opinionated, highly informed, and does not hesitate to criticize if he feels it is warranted. Those who are annoyed by his obvious bias would be advised to avoid this book. Although many obscure composers and movements are treated, there are a few significant omissions: Ezra Pound, despite authoring 3 operas as well as other works, is mentioned only in the entry for his orchestrator, George Antheil. Arvo Part's seminal work "Tabula Rasa" is barely mentioned in his entry; it probably merits an entry of its own. And how can any guide to 20th Century classical music include Frank Zappa, but omit Prof. Peter Schickele and P.D.Q. Bach? Entries referenced elsewhere in the text are marked with an asterisk, however, some may have been lost in editing. I searched in vain for the entry on "self-mutilation," referenced in the entry on "aesthetics." This is basically an encyclopedia, and the highest praise for it may be that there are few books in that format on any subject that merit reading from cover to cover -- this is one of them.

Okay. I should qualify that. This book is not intended to cover popular music. Not even jazz. We are only talking about "art" or "serious" music here. And then only some of that. But since you are here, you probably know that already. ...Mr. Lebrecht is a fairly opinionated Englishman. If you agree with him, fine. If you don't, tough. (Example, from the entry on Australasia: "A late developer in musical terms, the antipodes contributed sopranos - ... - and little else". Ouch! Mr. Lebrecht doesn't care much for electronic/computer music. Ouch again.)I guess I am lucky in that I agree with many Mr. Lebrecht's opinions - most of the time. So I actually find the "Companion" a handy reference to some of my favourite music. I haven't found a similar book that covers as much as what this one does. And I often appreciate the critical viewpoints.Negative points:The "Companion" tries to cover a lot. This means that every heading provides only a limited amount of information. Yet most topics packs a punch. Other books cover fewer topics, but more information per topic. At the same time the "Companion" does not cover everything. I found that many obscure artists (including composers) are missing from the book.And there is little overall historical analysis of the entire period. The book is presented in the dictionary style - which is what I wanted. Yet it is still nice to browse through. Entries are cross-referenced, as one would expect.After 429 pages, the appendix has a historical timeline covering world events, the arts, and music. I would have liked a visual diagram of how, say, American composers relate to each other. There are 13 photos, and a handful of line drawings.For other periods of classical music, you'll need the Oxford Dictionary of Music edited by Michael Kennedy. If you are interested in jazz (as well), look elsewhere. I recommend The New Grove's Dictionary of Jazz edited by Barry Kernfeld. As for the "Companion", get the second edition. It covers the whole of the last century.

Lebrecht knows how to turn a good imaginative phrase. He likes and exposes the controversial aspect of composers. When creative juices run out, as in Berio, you know it. He refers to Lukas Foss, the American, as a "poor mans Bernstein". All this is incredibly usefull to have information on modernity in one place. New generation as Dusapin, Skempton,Finnissy,Cardew,Sciarrino,all have at least passing blurbs so you know they exist. The grand auteurs as Stravinsky ,Schoenberg,Stockhausen,Cage, and Boulez occupy girth-like proportions. Yet this is material non repetitious from other references. Lebrecht remains on the surface,when experimental or innovative elements arise,they are discussed always after-the-fact,never as an integral component of a composer's struggle-bound life.

Lebrecht is a comprehensive funny critic who loves gossip,mirth and merriment, drudging and retreading,coming to terms with wealth,power money and talent in the cloistered arena of classical pursuits. If you ever wanted to know who has failed, or when a composer has spent himself irreparably or sexual preference, this book is the place for it. Poor New Yorker Lukas Foss is referred to as a "poor man's Bernstein", and Berio the livilier part of the avant-garde. For those composers who fall unneatly into the cracks and crevices of unknown musical history as Howard Skempton, regardless of age or creative metamorphosis he is associated with the Cardew bunch,being ganglike a disciple or follower. Lebrecht never acknowledges that composers are human just like critics and theymay make mistakes like everyone else.The brighter side to this miniature encyclopedia is that it is unquestionably a necessary one, for the new, the contemporary in music, be avant-garde or the bland conservatism that passes for music in Lebrect's town of London, has been scattered to the winds. There is scant focused information on contemporary composers, and those of neglect(and the list has oceanic dimensions)like,Lloyd,Hartmann, Sorabji,or Hauer,La Monte Young,Haba, Harrison,Ezra Simms,Ben Johnston,Sciarrino,Gentile, and Tenney,Lebrecht at least mentions a blurb,so you know someone exists. The formidable musical pillars of this century have adequete space, those of Mahler,Janacek, Stravinsky, even Busoni,Bernstein, Stockhausen and Berio encompass girth-like proportions.Lebrecht if you read carefully always fashions a point by what is popular,successful(market-wise) and what sells, and you really get both sides, damn if you do and you don't syndrome. This is a laudable position to be in,the critics, to write on wealth and success and neglect,failure and poverty, there will always be an abundance of all of it under globalization. The point is to predict I think,to give a value judgement with some semblance of sustenance and longevity, and critics run from that like poison ivy at a picnic.