The Concerto
A Listener's Guide
Published on 28. January 1999
Book
Hardback
528 pages
978-0-19-510330-4 (ISBN)
Description
Michael Steinberg's 1996 volume The Symphony: A Reader's Guide received glowing reviews across America. It was hailed as "wonderfully clear...recommended warmly to music lovers on all levels" (Washington Post), "informed and thoughtful" (Chicago Tribune), and "composed by a master stylist" (San Francisco Chronicle). Seiji Ozawa wrote that "his beautiful and effortless prose speaks from the heart." Michael Tilson Thomas called The Symphony "an essential book for any concertgoer."
Now comes the companion volume--The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. In this marvelous book, Steinberg discusses over 120 works, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach in the 1720s to John Adams in 1994. Readers will find here the heart of the standard repertory, among them Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, eighteen of Mozart's piano concertos, all the concertos of Beethoven and Brahms, and major works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Bruch, Dvora'k, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Elgar, Sibelius, Strauss, and Rachmaninoff. The book also provides luminous introductions to the achievement of twentieth-century masters such as Arnold Schoenberg, Be'la Barto'k, Igor Stravinsky, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, Aaron Copland, and Elliott Carter. Steinberg examines the work of these musical giants with unflagging enthusiasm and bright style. He is a master of capturing the expressive, dramatic, and emotional values of the music and of conveying the historical and personal context in which these wondrous works were composed. His writing blends impeccable scholarship, deeply felt love of music, and entertaining whimsy.
Now comes the companion volume--The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. In this marvelous book, Steinberg discusses over 120 works, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach in the 1720s to John Adams in 1994. Readers will find here the heart of the standard repertory, among them Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, eighteen of Mozart's piano concertos, all the concertos of Beethoven and Brahms, and major works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Bruch, Dvora'k, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Elgar, Sibelius, Strauss, and Rachmaninoff. The book also provides luminous introductions to the achievement of twentieth-century masters such as Arnold Schoenberg, Be'la Barto'k, Igor Stravinsky, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, Aaron Copland, and Elliott Carter. Steinberg examines the work of these musical giants with unflagging enthusiasm and bright style. He is a master of capturing the expressive, dramatic, and emotional values of the music and of conveying the historical and personal context in which these wondrous works were composed. His writing blends impeccable scholarship, deeply felt love of music, and entertaining whimsy.
Reviews / Votes
"A wide range of material--facts about the composers' lives, notable circumstances surrounding the first performances of the work--punctuate [Steinberg's] discussion of each work.... For the amateur with a musical background, this is a valuable and very interesting collection."--Library Journal"Each concerto is discussed with impeccable scholarliness an detailed historical information, but above all, the style of the writing is unfailingly entertaining."--Maestro Andre Previn
"This collection of articles has a relaxed, easy charm that will most likely win over readers unfamiliar with the subject."--Publishers Weekly
"Nobody can draw a reader into appreciation of a piece of classical music quite like Michael Steinberg.... Steinberg combines magisterial authority of a musicologist with the deeply personal point of view of a novelist."--St. Petersburg Times
"The writing is often relaxed and virutuosic, and it always passes the acid test: after reading Steinberg's freshly considered thoughts on any piece, I immediately want to heari, or hear it again.... A few of the longer essays are almost short stories in themselves. Reading Michael Steinberg on music will definitley make you a better listener--it might even make some of us better, or at least humber, writers. More important, he'll remind you of what makes
great music great."--City, Rochester
"In The Concerto, Michael Steinberg once again gives us essays on music that are love letters, overflowing with passion and intimate detail. What reader could fail to be seduced?"--Garrick Ohlsson
"Those who have already discovered how useful and engaging the earlier book is will be happy to know that their is more of the same here.... [Steinberg's] style is elegant and informative, his commentaries do not shy away from a serious analysis of the music.... He has vast knowledge of European culture, yet there is an all-American directness and pace to his writing. He wears his scholarship lightly and chooses well what information to impart to the reader.
His treatments are models of how program notes should be written for today's audiences, and it is wonderful to have them collected in so easily accessible a form."--Ted Libby, The Los Angeles Times
Book Review
"The Concerto: A Listener's Guide will send you running to the CD player....this lively, enthusiastic and detailed volume takes readers through more than 120 concertos, mainly for piano or violin and orchestra, but including works for cello, clarinet, oboe and horn. Steinberg is knowledgeable, literate and eloquent." --Frederic Koeppel, Commercial Appeal
"In The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, Michael Steinberg once again proves his mastery in translating music to word. In this volume, he presents an excellent and thorough discussion o concerto repertory, providing readers with comprehensive, enlightening information that will definetly enhance their appreciation of this musical form." --Yo Yo Ma
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
numerous music examples
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
894 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-510330-4 (9780195103304)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2000
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€20.99
Available for download
E-Book
10/2000
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€20.99
Available for download
Person
Michael Steinberg is the program annotator of the San Francisco Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. He has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory, and was the music critic for The Boston Globe for twelve years.