The Vintage Guide to Classical Music: An Indispensable Guide for Understanding and Enjoying Classical Music

An erudite though readable account of both history and musical analysis. Thoroughly recommended.

I bought this book quite some time ago now and regularly take it off the shelf to look something up. This is not a guide to recorded music but a great way to read about various composers and musical styles in roughly chronological order.I would say that this book is the first choice beginners guide, and don't let either the modest price or self-effacing jacket put you off!Written with a wry sense of humour, the author has helped me a great deal with my explorations over the last few years. Something of a twentieth-centry specialist, the author has, I believe, written a book about Brahms too.A terrific bargain from "over the pond"!

really enjoying exploring classics

This copy arrived on time and in perfect condition from World of Books. Although "used" it seemed never to have been handled.Swafford takes us from the Middle Ages to the late C20th, featuring essays on many composers. Originally published in 1992, it omits recent developments and emerging styles and composers, and women except as passing references.

A superb book that manages to combine the history and development of classical music with the lives of the major composers as well as going into great detail about their individual works. The fact that it is in chronological rather than alphabetical order helps one to see how music developed through the centuries and also who was contemporaneous with who.As someone who can only just about work out the names of the notes on a stave this is the book that I never thought existed. It has explained the structure of types of composition in a way that even I can enjoy and (mostly) understand.It's a riveting book that I'm thoroughly enjoying. I'm 3/4 of the way through and have read every page.Although the author makes recommendations throughout the book there is a great section at the end of the book listed by composer which summarizes all the works recommended.The only problem I've had is that it has tempted me to buy far too many CDs since I started reading it!

I couldn't be more satisfied with this book.I'm a total amateur when it comes to classical music and had not read anything else on that matter other than a few online articles. Nobody else in my family listens to classical music, but I made a habit of listening to it while working as it would help me concentrate. I've slowly acquired a taste for it but could not tell why I liked particular pieces more than others. Then I decided to buy this book. I now know better what I like and I've also been gently introduced to works from other famous composers, can start to understand their influences and as a result enjoy the music itself even more. The stories about their lives are pretty interesting too. All in all, it made me want to explore more and pay attention to detail, while thoroughly enjoying it. Needless to say, best enjoyed with some classical music in the background :)

This book is a great insight into the history of music, and if read helps when understanding how to interpret musical pieces. Packed with information - as I read it I cross reference it with listening to music written about on-line. Excellently written, extremely in depth.

This is a very well-written book that provides a comprehensive guide to classical music. It's perfect for a beginner who wants to acquire a solid basic grounding in the field and to be introduced to the key composers, compositions and developments. The author provides a very engaging history and commentary: lucid, venerable and professional. I could not recommend a book higher.

If you are looking for a single book to introduce you to the great classical composers, this is the one. The book is arranged historically and takes the reader from medieval music through the twentieth century. The author writes in an engaging, opinionated, and often humorous style which kept me interested throughout. One of the best features of the book is the short biography of each composer. Swafford does a great job of bringing these musical geniuses to life, warts and all. Forget any preconceived notions you have about stuffy historical figures. These guys were quirky, colorful, and very human. Many of them were so vividly portrayed I could imagine a screenplay being written about their lives. For each composer, he describes their key musical contributions with recommendations for listening. I added his recommendations to my Spotify account so I was able to listen to each work as I read the book. It was like taking a fun course in classical music (without the tests). There were only a couple of things to quibble about with the book. First, I am a lifelong classical music lover but I do not read music, so some of the more technical sections on music theory were a bit hard for me to follow. There is however, a glossary in the back which was quite helpful with this. Second (and I know this is a matter of my personal taste), a great deal of time is spent on atonal composers of the 20th century, a style of music I find (with a few exceptions) to range from unpleasant to unlistenable, while Johann Strauss is mentioned in passing in a single sentence. Again, these are quibbles reflecting my own background and tastes. Overall, this is an excellent book which I highly recommend.

I’ve always been a fan of classical music, but didn’t know much about it, or who was who, or what was what. Recently I decided to learn more about it. This book has been great.

È scritta bene e, sebbene sintetica, va abbastanza a fondo. Una cosa che mi ha un pò infastidito è che alcuni riquadri di approfondimento continuano su più pagine, assieme al testo normale, per cui non ssi sa se seguire prima il testo per per tornare indietro e leggere l'approfondimento, o fare il contrario.

There is much to recommend this book as an introduction to classical music. However, if one is coming to it as a complete layperson, then it might seem that important foundational concepts are being taken for granted. I would suggest coming to this after getting a few basic concepts straight. Then it is a thoroughly enjoyable and quite informative book on the subject.

A great reference source and an excellent guide to much of the vast catalog of classical music.