The Virgin Guide to Classical Music

This guide to classical music serves as a musical introduction, reference work and CD guide. This work is designed to be of interest to those seeking to broaden their knowledge of, and thereby increase their pleasure in, classical music. With a particular emphasis on the now-fashionable early music, and contemporary composers such as John Tavener and Arvo Part, this guide deals with each musical form - early music, the symphony, the concerto and so on - chronologically, in a reader-friendly, accessible style, avoiding technical terms where possible and explaining them where necessary. Each chapter has a lively discography giving an overview of the best CDs on the market, with special emphasis on value-for-money discs - indispensable for those building up a classical collection from scratch.