The Companion To 20th-century Music - Softcover

Lebrecht, Norman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306807343 ISBN 13: 9780306807343

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 1996

Synopsis

Twentieth century music has been remarkable for its pluralism. The various styles atonality, neo-classicism, nationalism, serialism, jazz, computer music, minimalism, electronics, folklorism, happenings,” sheer chance have been far from monolithic, and experimentation has been, perhaps, the century's only defining feature. With over 2500 entries, The Companion to 20th-Century Music is the first book to comprehensively define and applaud this diversity. Norman Lebrecht celebrates variety and innovation, assessing composers and musicians according to artistic merit rather than ideological or institutional eminence. He states that his purpose is to demythologize, to enlighten, and to entertain,” so he writes in a readable, narrative style, free of jargon and abbreviations. The end result is the perfect companion to the music of our time.

About this title

About the Author

Norman Lebrecht is the author of The Maestro Myth, The Book of Musical Anecdotes, and a number of other books on music, and is the editor of Mahler Remembered. He has made several documentaries and has covered the music world for London's Sunday Times, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He lives in London.

From Library Journal

British music critic Lebrecht is well known to music lovers for his entertaining, gossipy book Discord ( LJ 5/1/83). The same droll, opinionated, and eminently quotable author makes a triumphant return with this encyclopedia on the personalities and ideas of this century's music. As with Nicolas Slonimsky's Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians ( LJ 1/92. 8th ed.), the stamp of an idiosyncratic, unabashedly partial mind can be found in every entry. Lebrecht professes a pluralistic, nonideological approach: He holds no allegiances, save to his own instincts and good judgment. The results are mixed; for the most part, readers will be greatly impressed by the insightfulness of his comments and the sheer scope of the project. Certain entries, though, are irritatingly flippant and lacking in useful information. One can also criticize Lebrecht for ignoring current technological developments (there is no entry for "MIDI" and a woefully inadequate one for "computers") and for being slightly behind the curve in listing contemporary American composers. These caveats aside, the book is terrific reading and should be included in most music reference collections.
- Larry Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0306807343
• ISBN 13: 9780306807343
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 440