The Rough Guide to Classical Music

Some books have too much information in them and will sit on shelves, but never be read. This book is not one of them. The articles are concise and interesting, and feature helpful recommendations of CDs currently available.It is a good resource if you want to keep up to date, because the book gives information about many recent composers, as well as those who are already familiar.I also appreciate the articles interspersed throughout the book on such topics as:What is a Fugue?Sonatas and Sonata FormComposers at the MoviesDevelopment of the KeyboardThe chronological list of composers is also a helpful bonus.An excellent resource for students, teachers and all interested in Classical Music.

I owned the previous edition of this book. As someone relatively new to classical music, I found the book to be an ideal place to expand my interests. I initial purched th NPR Guide to begin my collection and then the previous edition of this book. It is possible to find faults with any guide containing suggestions for recordings and repertoire, I have been highly satisfied with the suggestions in the Rough Guide. As one of its best features the book contains music from the earlest times and includes contemporay composers. The descriptions of composers and recordings allows one a greater appreciation of the music. This edition contains twenty essays that did not appear in the previos edition on topics as diverse as gregorian chant to atonlity. This book is perfect for anyone interesed in Classical Music

The ROUGH GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC is a very well produced book that has several qualities that make it an essential purchase for lovers of music composed in the European ( Western ) Tradition. First, the book has a tremendous range ( historic and stylistic ), which extends from Hildegard of Bingen ( 1098-1179 ) thru Thomas Ades ( 1971- ). This far-sighted depth is quite useful for the devotee who is not particularly well informed about say, the Medieval or Renaissance periods ( about 20 composers from those periods are featured ) and is more useful still for those interested in "modern" ( or "contemporary" ) music. Where there is a comparative lack of information in other guides ( GRAMOPHONE, PENGUIN, NPR, etc ), the ROUGH GUIDE features a tremendous number of currently active musicians ( some fairly well known and others somewhat obscure ). In fact, with regard to "difficult" music, the ROUGH GUIDE is actually superior to the BLACKWELL GUIDE, which is a volume solely devoted to contemporary composers.Secondly, the thumbnail biographical sketches, while necessarily limited in scope, are quite informative ( the writers really seem to have listened to the music ). As is normal, it will be a matter of taste as to whether one agrees with the recommended recordings; this reviewer found a number of choices to quarrel over, but that is half the fun with these sorts of books anyway.The volume is attractively laid out, with clear type-set and a number of a black and white photos dispersed throughout. To sum up, THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC is a fine book filling a particularly important need for depth and substance. It should perform good service to newcomers and long time fans alike.

Whether or not this book is *right* about what recordings are the best of a particular work, I have yet to be disappointed purchasing a disc recommended here. It is quite strong on 20th century composers, which is unusual in books of this kind. The writing is thoughtful, readable, and intelligent, too. I think this is the ideal book for someone who wants to know more about classical music, and is more than useful for those who already know a bit. Also, I've never had trouble tracking down any of the recordings, but maybe I've just been lucky.