It's unusual for a non-fiction book to keep me so interested that I am reading it every moment I can but Gareth Malone's Guide to Classical Music certainly did! It took me about two weeks to read but even though I have finished it this doesn't mean I have finished with it. There is so much information that I will be using the book for many years to come, dipping into certain sections and following up the sound links.
I've always felt a little ignorant about classical music. It has this stigma as being for middle class over 50's (Oh! I fall into one of those categories, damn!!), snooty people. Gareth's approach makes classical music accessible in a down to earth manner. His anecdotes and personal experience make this book fun to read. It was a good feeling to know that even Gareth has sat in a concert counting light bulbs on the ceiling during the boring bits!
Gareth begins reminding us how much classical music we already know through films, adverts, piped music and when hanging on the phone! He pieces the bits together, gives sound links to YouTube and Spotify to hear these pieces and other popular classics and invites us to try others. It may take years for me to investigate all the links but I have already found one gem. Gareth guides the reader through the history of music, periods, composers, what makes an orchestra, what a conductor does, even where to sit in a concert hall for the best sound and urges his readers to go out there and listen live because you can't beat it. I tend to agree even with my limited experience of classical concerts. I also agree with Gareth that some music is best seen and heard live rather than listened to on CD. I remember attending an afternoon concert with a friend where one piece was a showcase for the percussion. If I'd heard this on a CD I probably would have turned it off because the music was quite experimental, not particularly melodic yet seeing it performed was a wonderful experience of the new and risky and completely spellbinding!
There are chapters on the difference between opera, symphony, chamber music and song cycle as well as how music works and lots of recommendations throughout the book to works of music. He says we should try all sorts of classical music to find what we like and gives preparation advice for attending concerts and how to survive them!
There are many golden nuggets here, little gems, and all written about in a laid back easy to understand style.. If you've ever wanted to know what classical music is all about and where to start, this book is for you. It has made me want to learn more.
There was one particular part that I so associated with. A friend of Gareth's went along to a performance of the Messiah (Handel), looked at the programme and thought that it would be a short concert because there were so few words. Hah! Little did he know that those few words were repeated and repeated and repeated.......It was several hours before he emerged from the concert. I spent many a time sitting through concerts like that, glancing at my watch and willing for the end to come. Those were the days when my parents sang in a choral society and me and my brother were dragged along to suffer. It's all so familiar. I survived (just) and a lot of water and music has gone under the bridge since then. I've never ventured back in that direction but it's amazing how many bits of the Messiah I know! And now I am in a choir myself but a long way from choral pieces, still you never know!
I've always felt a little ignorant about classical music. It has this stigma as being for middle class over 50's (Oh! I fall into one of those categories, damn!!), snooty people. Gareth's approach makes classical music accessible in a down to earth manner. His anecdotes and personal experience make this book fun to read. It was a good feeling to know that even Gareth has sat in a concert counting light bulbs on the ceiling during the boring bits!
Gareth begins reminding us how much classical music we already know through films, adverts, piped music and when hanging on the phone! He pieces the bits together, gives sound links to YouTube and Spotify to hear these pieces and other popular classics and invites us to try others. It may take years for me to investigate all the links but I have already found one gem. Gareth guides the reader through the history of music, periods, composers, what makes an orchestra, what a conductor does, even where to sit in a concert hall for the best sound and urges his readers to go out there and listen live because you can't beat it. I tend to agree even with my limited experience of classical concerts. I also agree with Gareth that some music is best seen and heard live rather than listened to on CD. I remember attending an afternoon concert with a friend where one piece was a showcase for the percussion. If I'd heard this on a CD I probably would have turned it off because the music was quite experimental, not particularly melodic yet seeing it performed was a wonderful experience of the new and risky and completely spellbinding!
There are chapters on the difference between opera, symphony, chamber music and song cycle as well as how music works and lots of recommendations throughout the book to works of music. He says we should try all sorts of classical music to find what we like and gives preparation advice for attending concerts and how to survive them!
There are many golden nuggets here, little gems, and all written about in a laid back easy to understand style.. If you've ever wanted to know what classical music is all about and where to start, this book is for you. It has made me want to learn more.
There was one particular part that I so associated with. A friend of Gareth's went along to a performance of the Messiah (Handel), looked at the programme and thought that it would be a short concert because there were so few words. Hah! Little did he know that those few words were repeated and repeated and repeated.......It was several hours before he emerged from the concert. I spent many a time sitting through concerts like that, glancing at my watch and willing for the end to come. Those were the days when my parents sang in a choral society and me and my brother were dragged along to suffer. It's all so familiar. I survived (just) and a lot of water and music has gone under the bridge since then. I've never ventured back in that direction but it's amazing how many bits of the Messiah I know! And now I am in a choir myself but a long way from choral pieces, still you never know!
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