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The symphony
The Symphony
- GenresMusic
416 pages, Unbound
First published January 1, 1949
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 2, 2017
I received this book from a professor who was cleaning out her office, hoping for a book with a good introduction to famous symphonic works. I got just that.
It is designed for the average concert goer, but the average concert goer of 1950 probably had more musical training than the average concert goer of 2017. I think the book would be hard for someone of no to a very little musical background to understand. I have a degree in music and found it very easy to follow and understand. I took the time to follow along with recordings of the symphonies while reading the descriptions which I would recommend to anyone who decides to read this book.
My biggest concern is how out of date the book is. Particularly for the information on the composers who were still living at the time (particularly Vaughn Williams who is credited with six symphonies but in fact wrote nine before he died). However, I still think it is a good place to start if you have any interest in the history of the symphony.
It is designed for the average concert goer, but the average concert goer of 1950 probably had more musical training than the average concert goer of 2017. I think the book would be hard for someone of no to a very little musical background to understand. I have a degree in music and found it very easy to follow and understand. I took the time to follow along with recordings of the symphonies while reading the descriptions which I would recommend to anyone who decides to read this book.
My biggest concern is how out of date the book is. Particularly for the information on the composers who were still living at the time (particularly Vaughn Williams who is credited with six symphonies but in fact wrote nine before he died). However, I still think it is a good place to start if you have any interest in the history of the symphony.
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February 19, 2023Picked this up at a secondhand store as something to do while I would be taking a couple of months off from orchestra - and well worth my hard-earned $2. It was pretty interesting to read through a bit of analysis and background of major symphonies, although I'm not certain it's super beginner friendly. Appreciated the small snippets of notation to read along with
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews