The Chronicle of Classical Music: An Intimate Diary of the Lives and Music of the Great Composers - Hardcover

Kendall, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500016275 ISBN 13: 9780500016275

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1994

Synopsis

Classical music today has a bigger and more universal following than ever, the age of the CD making it accessible to a vast audience. Here is a book that will bring vividly to life the worlds of some of our greatest composers. Taking the form of a chronological diary from 1600 to the present day, it leads the reader through the centuries, year by year, and follows the great composers' overlapping and interweaving lives. It contains details of: the main musical works and events of the year; the life and background of each composer; concurrent historical and artistic events and influences. Carefully cross-referenced with the chronological data are a series of special features discussing in detail the key works, influences on musical form and performance, the changing working conditions and status of the musicians, and the development of musical instruments. The book includes: extracts from original letters and journals; hundreds of illustrations reproducing posters, cartoons, photographs, documents and musical scores; an extensive reference section including biographies, a timeline and a guide to the top recordings and performers.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Kendall is the author of some twenty books, mostly on music and history. He co-edited the four-volume Heritage of Music for Oxford University Press.

From Library Journal

This lavishly illustrated general history of music is presented in diary format. Beginning in 1600, periods of two to five years get single-paragraph overviews, which are followed by date entries that offer one or two sentences stating factual events in the history of music (e.g., "1700, 18 September. Vivaldi is ordained deacon, aged twenty-two, in Venice"). Accompanying sidebars list contemporary political and cultural events, and short quotes and captions add tiny vignettes. Every few pages, the chronology is broken up by a few tightly focused, diary-like paragraphs on an instrument, a composition, an event, a letter, or an idea. Completing the book is a reference section that includes a biographical listing of composers that gives little more than birth and death dates, a list of the "Top 100 Classical Recordings," acknowledgments, a bibliography, an index, and more-all in just 32 pages. The book is beautiful, but much of the writing is dry and overly brief; the style makes it impossible to formulate a cohesive vision of an artist or period. Not recommended; a better general reference is the four-volume Heritage of Music (LJ 10/15/89), edited by Kendall and Michael Raeburn.
Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0500016275
• ISBN 13: 9780500016275
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288