Classical Music 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Classical Music

Wife has just really gotten into classical music . She says this book is a great aid better understanding and enjoying this music .

Expected something different with more explanations about classical music, about the content in a work of music. The explanations did not enlightened my knowledge, tried to look within the book something that made me aware the whys and reasons behind classical music in general. I am not interested in knowing on classical songs, or operas, I wanted to know first one thing to move to the next step. I did not find what I wanted in this book. I am returning it.

looking forward in completion.

THE BOOK: FIVE STARSFred Plotkin knows his stuff and takes you on a well-rounded journey through classical music and how to listen.THE AUDIOBOOK: ONE STARUnfortunately, sections of the audiobook were recorded when the author was fighting a cold, and the sound of his post-nasal drip was very distracting. In certain passages, he was so sick he was unable to pronounce words correctly. "Tone poem" became "toad poem." I was very surprised that the author was permitted to read in this condition.Excellent book. Just stay away from the audio version!

"Classical Music 101" is a great book, but there are a few caveats, which I will get to at the end of my review.First off, this book examines--culturally and commercially--the place that classical music holds in today's world. Next, it breaks down classical music into its constitutive elements: how individual instruments produce sound; how the individual sounds of instruments come together in various orchestral formats; what role the conductor plays; and how the elusive art of active listening can be perfected. There is specific scrutiny of several representative musical works, a discography of recommended recordings, and an appendix listing concert venues all over the world.The best aspect of the work is how it attacks, frequently and energetically, the question of why classical music matters. Plotkin has some great answers, and they are heartfelt rather than pat. The whole work is suffused with Plotkin's great knowledge and attention to detail. There are all manner of fascinating "insider" details--such as why the number of classical recordings continues to wither while record-company profits go up--that are the icing on this detail-rich cake.There are some warnings, however. First, the typeface is troublingly small. People who have a hard time reading fine print should avoid this book. Second, this is a book is NOT a quick, breezy read (think "Classical Music for Dummies"), so if you don't want to work a little, skip it. Plotkin asks you to think and reflect, which is great--but there are less challenging classical-music guides on the market.In the end, I believe the attentive reader of this book will be richly rewarded. Ploktin might easily make you into a lifelong classical music fan.

This is the most disappointing book about classical music I've ever read.At first glance the book seems promising; dedicating numerous pages to one musical composition, while other books settles for much shorter comments. This build out an expectation for a thorough analysis of the musical piece; but it turns out to be an "optical illusion" . The book is wordy, tedious, shallow, and soporific.For example a total of 16 pages (145-160) are dedicated to Beethoven's 7th Symphony. In this chapter you get a 5 pages long list of conductors which has nothing to do with the 7th symphony ; for "dessert", Mr. Plotkin, portrays an ordeal the Philadelphia Orchestra went through while choosing a director out of 634 candidates. The author also doesn't forget to list all past directors too. What does it have to do with B's 7th Symphony and how does it contribute to the understanding of the 7th Symphony?Not only it's a waste of time and space but it also distracts the reader's attention off the main subject.In Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue"(pages 121-2) it doesn't get any better , you get a journalistic gossip reportage-like of the temperature outside and inside of the concert hall ; the author does not forget to mention the audiences' disappointment of previous performances which took place that evening. The Rhapsody is commented in a "grand total" of few lines out of 2 pages...You'll be better informed by reading the CD's inserts of the music you're listening to and the following books although old but contain valuable and interesting information:"Listener's Anthology of Music" by Lillian Baldwin (1948).The enlarged edition "The Enjoyment of Music" by Joseph Machlis (1970). There are newer editions of the latter book written by different authors, which I haven't seen yet. 2 Stars gained for recommended CDs list and for the contact info of concert halls.

This is certainly an acceptable book on listening to classical music for beginners, and Mr. Plotkin obviously knows a great deal about the subject. However, the author's introductory promise not to treat us like "dummies" or "idiots" (references to other guidebooks he wants to distance himself from), are not wholly kept. I found much value in the content of the book, but the tone of the writing is unbearably "dick and jane-ish" - to the point that I sometimes just had to put the book down and walk away for a while. In particular the lecture on listening is profoundly didactic.I also was disappointed that there was not more attention paid to the technical terms used for different aspects of classical music. There is definitely no succinct glossary of terms. If you want to know this stuff, I encourage a hunt and peck journey on wikipedia.One very good feature of the book is an extensive list of concert halls, internet resources, and other bits of ephemera of interest to the classical music novice.Overall, it's a decent book to own, but I didn't like it enough to recommend.

Didático and pedegogicform of learnuing