Book Review - How to Listen to Great Music - Robert Greenberg

Title:    How to Listen to Great Music

Author:  Robert Greenberg

Review:  If you enjoy music you will enjoy this book.  It is a series of lectures on music and how it is made.  I have a few musicians in the family and the knowledge they have far exceeds mine, but with this book I can sort of hold my own in a musical conversation. 

Great information for anyone interested in music.  It took me a long time to read being a lecture series and not a mystery, but it was worth the time.  The authors approach is multi-faceted in the fact that he talks about the history, the structure of music and some of the instruments.  Also some interesting stories are thrown in along the way.

This author knows his stuff and that enthusiasm comes out in this writing.  My musical knowledge was small, but this book has really opened my eyes to what is out there.  I had no idea what many of the pieces he mentioned were so I Googled a few and was fascinated.  I think the CD is the way to go, the book can get a bit dry at times.  But, I enjoyed this book and think I have a much better grasp on music than I ever did before.

Publisher:  Published April 26th 2011 by Plume(first published 1998)

  Copyright: 1998

  Pages:  352

  ISBN:    9780452297081

  Quick Review: 4 Stars out of 5. 

  Where Did I Get the Book:  Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis:  From one of the most trusted names in continuing education-the knowledge you need to unlock "the most abstract and sublime of all the arts."

Whether you're listening in a concert hall or on your iPod, concert music has the power to move you. The right knowledge can deepen the ability of this music to edify, enlighten, and stir the soul. In How to Listen to Great Music, Professor Robert Greenberg, a composer and music historian, presents a comprehensive, accessible guide to how music has mirrored Western history, that will transform the experience of listening for novice and long-time listeners alike. You will learn how to listen for key elements in different genres of music - from madrigals to minuets and from sonatas to symphonies-along with the enthralling history of great music from ancient Greece to the 20th century. You'll get answers to such questions as Why was Beethoven so important? How did the Enlightenment change music? And what's so great about opera anyway? How to Listen to Great Music will let you finally hear what you've been missing.

 

Author Biography: Greenberg has composed over fifty works for a wide variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles. Recent performances of his works have taken place in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, England, Ireland, Greece, Italy and The Netherlands, where his Child’s Play for String Quartet was performed at the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.

Other Reviews:  Dwell in Possibility, Eclectic Homeschool online, The Internet Review of Books