Declassified: A Low-Key Guide to the High-Strung World of Classical Music

Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch

ISBN 10: 059333146X / ISBN 13: 9780593331460

Published by Penguin Putnam Inc, 2022

About this Item

2022. Hardcover. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780593331460

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Declassified: A Low-Key Guide to the High-Strung World of Classical Music
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 059333146X
• ISBN 13: 9780593331460
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

“A refreshingly fun guide” that reads “as if you’re a fly on the wall in conservatory auditions, cutthroat competitions and the obsessive practice routines of professional musicians.” (The New York Times)

Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch’s life-long fascination with classical music has taken her through Juilliard and into the shiny world of symphony halls and international concert tours. She’s loved classical music her whole life. But she’s also hated classical music her whole life. After all, if you can like Beyoncé without liking Bieber, you can certainly like Brahms without liking Bach—especially since they were born 148 years apart and the thing we call “classical music” is really just centuries of compositions shoved into one hodge-podge of a genre.
 
In Declassified, Warsaw-Fan Rauch blows through the cobwebs of elitism and exclusion and invites everyone to love and hate this music as much as she does. She offers a backstage tour of the industry and equips you for every listening scenario, covering: the 7 main compositional periods (even the soul-crushingly depressing Medieval period), a breakdown of the instruments and their associated personality types (apologies to violists and conductors), what it’s like to be a musician at the highest level (it’s hard), how to steal a Stradivarius (and make no money in the process), and when to clap during a live performance (also: when not to). Declassified cheekily demystifies the world of High Art while making the case that classical music matters, perhaps now more than ever.

About the Author

Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch earned a Bachelor degree and Master of Music from the Juilliard School and has performed as a classical violinist in top venues around the world including Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and the Ravinia, Verbier, La Jolla Summerfest, and Aspen Music festivals. She has toured with such legendary artists as jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and Sir James Galway. Declassified is her first book.