Twentieth Century Music

Rollo H Myers

Published by The Orion Press, 1970

About this Item

Ah, Twentieth Century Music (1970) by Rollo H. Myers ?a book about the century in which music looked at melody, harmony, and polite drawing-room expectations, and decided that perhaps a little organised bewilderment was overdue. Myers takes the reader through the great upheaval of modern music: the era when composers began pushing beyond the comfortable certainties of the nineteenth century and into stranger, sharper, more experimental territory. Here are the sounds of a world no longer content with merely being tuneful. Rhythm becomes restless, harmony becomes suspicious of itself, and tonality occasionally leaves the room without saying goodbye. This is a guide to the serious business of musical modernism, covering the composers, movements, and ideas that shaped twentieth-century composition. It is the sort of book that can discuss innovation with scholarly calm while the music itself bangs, shimmers, whispers, and occasionally appears to fall down a staircase on purpose. For anyone curious about how classical music got from late Romantic grandeur to the age of Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartók, and beyond, this is a thoughtful and intelligent companion. This copy is in Near Fine condition, which is always pleasing in a book about modern music, as it suggests that previous owners either treated it with admirable respect or were too intimidated by serialism to handle it roughly. Clean, smart, and well-preserved, it has survived rather better than many musical certainties did during the period it describes. In short, Twentieth Century Music is ideal for readers who enjoy cultural history, classical music, and the peculiar pleasure of watching art become more difficult on purpose. A fine copy of a serious, elegant study of the moment when music stopped asking permission and started rearranging the furniture.

Seller Inventory # 6331

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Twentieth Century Music
• Publisher: The Orion Press
• Publication Date: 1970
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: Near Fine