BALLANTINE GROUP Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works

There are hundreds of introduction to classical music books out there but this simple plain text is an ideal starter for the novice. It's written by an author who obviously genuinely loves his subject. To be honest I'm always a little unsure about "best" recordings as there's always a lot of good recordings to chose from and classical listeners tend to treat CDs with more respect than your average pop fan so that second hand records are usually a pretty safe buy. The book itself is a safe buy for any classical music fan.

Really excellent book! The 7 years in the writing shows. Takes the beginner to rapid knowledge increase from an assumed start of no knowledge. Written in an easily understood language. Recommended.

Well Indexed. Only disappoint was that ALBINONI was not mentioned.

this book is great for people just starting out in the world of music as well as those who have been listening to classical compositions for a while, intelligent, interesting, factual, loved it!

Very comprehensive, educational and easy to read. Just what I wanted.