Classical Music
by Phil G. Goulding
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Book Summary Information
Author: Phil G. GouldingEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-10-17
ISBN: 0449910423
Number of pages: 656
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Classical Music
Book Review: 30 Reasons you Should not buy this book
Summary: 2 Stars
30 reasons you should not buy this book:
30. Lists are subjective and probably a waste of time, which is probably why you should not read mine any further but if you do, I hope I help you
29. Where is Ockeghem? Ockeghem is a very important Renaissance composer and follower of the also absent Dufay. I guess this author did not put much merit into the Renaissance and pre-Renaissance. I do.
28. Three composers from the Russian nationalist school is too much. Mussorgsky is the most substantial composer of the "Mighty Five" which make up the Russian Nationalist school...Rimsky Korsakov and Borodin are extraneous with regards to this list.
27. Carl Nielsen was in the ranking I think. I don't remember which number, but if I'm correct, he does not need to be here. He is a very special symphonist, but he wouldn't crack the top 50 in my view.
26. Hindemith is an odd choice to include considering the lack of far greater 20th Century composers such as Schoenberg, Copland and Rachmaninov.
25. The ranking of Janacek and Smetana should be reversed, because Janacek who I believe is number 49 in the book accomplished more in almost every genre than the earlier Czech composer.
24. I would not put Dvorak at 12 personally. His music is fantastic, but I feel with Brahms being 6 (and Brahms is a far greater composer) that Dvorak should be a little further back.
23. Where is Dufay? Dufay is a very import Renaissance composer who developed isorhythm (melodies with asymetrical rhythmic values happening simultaneously). A huge omission.
22. Gluck should be in the top 20. As an innovator Gluck would be in the top 10, but his presence in the concert hall today would bring him down to the top 20 instead. He is possibly the greatest opera composer before Mozart AND a huge influence on Mozart.
21. Saint-Saens is too high. Saint-Saens is a great composer yes, but he's ranked practically next to other French composers who are certainly much greater: Berlioz and Debussy.
20. Telemann was considered the greatest in his own day, but there is no need for him to be listed in the top 50 greatest composers. Certainly Purcell is a Baroque composer whose music has more importance today. Purcell was not included.
19. Why is there a comparison between Bruckner and Rachmaninov? The book includes Bruckner and states something in the nature that there was a choice between Bruckner and Rachmaninov and he chose Bruckner. I can't relate these composers since they never met, weren't from the same time, country and sound nothing alike! They should both be included.
18. I feel it is important to acknowledge Beethoven as music's greatest composer, more than Bach (who was placed at number 1) or Mozart (who was placed at number 2). It's really splitting hairs when you get to a level of greatness like that, but putting all personal preferences aside, it is true that Beethoven did the most to change and move music to new ground. For that he is the most substantial.
17. Tchaikovsky in the top 10? For most newcomers the name Tchaikovsky is even more familiar than Bach. However, Tchaikovsky should not be considered a candidate for the top ten GREATEST composers of music history. He is certainly great, and deserves to be in the book, but the top 10 should be reserved for the strongest and most consistent composers. I love Tchaikovsky's music immensely, but some of it can be very beautiful sounds lacking substance.
16. Sibelius is too far back. Sibelius is the greatest composer of the Nationalist movement. I would rank him slightly behind Mahler in terms of sheer greatness. He is probably the second greatest symphonist of the 20th Century, edging out Shostakovich by slim margin in that department.
15. Monteverdi not in the top 10? Monteverdi is THE transitional composer between the Renaissance and the Baroque. He is also the most significant composer of Madrigals in the history of the form. Most importantly he is credited with composing the first surviving great opera. Take Tchaikovsky out of the top 10 and put in Monteverdi.
14. America where are you? There should be at least one American composer in this book. Maybe America is a late bloomer, but certainly there have been greater American composers than Johann Strauss or Donizetti. I would include Copland or Ives, probably Copland.
13. Donizetti? Why is he here. Rossini is the most important Bel Canto composer. Donizetti did write a string of great operas, but he wrote more not so great ones and in most quarters Bellini (a short lived contemporary) is considered far superior. Bellini is not listed and probably does not need to be.
12. Is Vaughan Williams the greatest composer England had to offer? He's the only one listed in this book. Certainly, Vaughan Williams is a fantastic composer, but England produced composers of much greater interest: Purcell, Elgar, Byrd and probably Britten to name a few. Elgar should surely be included in this book (which focuses its attention on the Romantics), I believe Purcell would have been a nice edition too. Vaughan Williams did not have to be included.
11. Stravinsky is considered the most important musical figure of the 20th Century. Particularly because of his three ballets composed early in the Century. I feel it is unreasonable to not include him in the top ten. Many would rank him above Schumann or Handel, and certainly Tchaikovsky.
10. Does this author really know anything about Mahler? First of all Mahler should probably be closer to the top than 17. His symphonies have gained almost as much respect as Beethoven's and in some ways express the pinacle of orchestral writing more than any other works. The thing which concerned me was the author's recommendations of Mahler's works and the way in which he described them. I recall him saying the 1st symphony was beloved for it's understanding of form and structure. My comment on that is that while the 1st may be beloved, its use of symphonic form is extremely loose, and this is not Mahler at his structural best. He also recommended the Song of the Earth, which I agree with entirely. I also agree with the 4th as a recommendation. But what is surprising is the fact that instead of emphasizing Mahler's symphonic writing, the author equally emphasizes his Orchestral song writing...which is great, but hardly an essential part of Mahler's output. The 2nd Symphony and the 9th Symphony should have been recommended in place of Das Knaben Wunderhorn and the Kindertoten Lieder.
9. Not a single French composer in the top 20. Being that France has some of the most innovative composers to its credit (Debussy, Berlioz, Machaut, Rameau) I don't see how it's possible to not include a single French composer in the top 20. I would personally include Debussy in the top 10. His harmonic innovations are only rivaled by Wagner's.
8. Mendelssohn at number 11? This was a big surprise to me. Mendelssohn may be one of the most well known figures in classical music, and some of his melodies rank with Beethoven's and Wagner's with regards to popularity, BUT in terms of influence and sheer greatness, Mendelssohn does not deserve to be in the top 20, probably not even top 30. His symphonies are performed often, but not extremely well regarded, his violin concerto is one of the most beloved, but his piano concerti are almost unknown, his early chamber music ranks with the best of its time until it was outdone by Schubert and Beethoven a few years later. The Midsummer Night's Dream is good (well the overture is) overall, I think Mendelssohn was put at number 11 because the inexperienced author began writing with previous knowledge of this composer's music.
7. How did Johann Strauss make this list? Yes his melodies are well known, but so are Stephen Foster's. Johann Strauss would not make a top 200 greatest composers list written by an experienced listener.
6. Bartok is misplaced. I don't recall which number Bartok was placed as I refused to buy the book, but I recalled him being in the high 30s. Bartok is without question, a more significant composer than half the people who made the top 30...Bartok may not be as well known, but is a more serious composer than Mendelssohn, Puccini, even Richard Strauss.
5. Machaut? Where is Machaut. The French Medieval composer is often considered the greatest genius of the 14th Century alongside Chaucer. Machaut also established the Mass Proper which is the longest surviving form in music!
4. Josquin is not even mentioned!!! In fact Palestrina is the only pre-baroque composer who is ranked. Does this mean the author thinks that music was not great prior to the 17th Century? Certainly for a well-rounded read and collection, one has to acknowledge the greatness of composers prior to Palestrina. Josquin was the most significant composer from the Renaissance prior to Palestrina. In some quarters he is considered more important than the later composer for polyphonic his innovations.
3. Schoenberg is not in this book. His music is certainly not for the beginner, but the absense of his name hurts this book's credibility. Schoenberg is probably the third if not fourth most significant composer from the last Century. I would expect his name to appear in a top 30 of any list ranking composers' greatness!
2. Borodin was a great Russian composer, but to include him and not Rachmaninov is incredible, considering that Borodin wrote very little (and his greatest work Prince Igor) was not even finished by him. Rachmaninov on the other hand has probably shone to be Russia's second most popular composer after Tchaikovsky. While not as great in terms of innovation as other Russian composers, the omission of his name from this book is incredible. He easily outshines more than 10 composers listed.
1. The book is written by someone who admits to having extremely limited knowledge and experience with Classical Music.
I believe a more accurate top 50 would read:
50. Antonio Vivaldi
49. William Byrd
48. Johannes Ockeghem
47. Bedrich Smetana
46. Aaron Copland
45. Henry Purcell
44. Edvard Grieg
43. Gioachino Rossini
42. Gabriel Faure
41. Carl Maria von Weber
40. Camille Saint-Saens
39. Leos Janacek
38. Modest Mussorgsky
37. Anton Bruckner
36. Giaccomo Puccini
35. Sergey Rachmaninov
34. Edward Elgar
33. Maurice Ravel
32. Felix Mendelssohn
31. Richard Strauss
30. Sergey Prokofiev
29. Arnold Schoenberg
28. Guillaume Dufay
27. Antonin Dvorak
26. Jean-Philippe Rameau
25. Fryderyk Chopin
24. Hector Berlioz
23. Franz Liszt
22. Pytor Il'yich Tchaikovsky
21. Christoph Willibald Gluck
20. Dmitri Shostakovich
19. Giuseppe Verdi
18. Jean Sibelius
17. Bela Bartok
16. Georg Frideric Handel
15. Gustav Mahler
14. Robert Schumann
13. Guilame de Machaut
12. Josquin desprez
11. Johannes Brahms
10. Claude Debussy
9. Franz Schubert
8. Claudio Monteverdi
7. Igor Stravinsky
6. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
5. Franz Joseph Haydn
4. Richard Wagner
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2. Johann Sebastian Bach
1. Ludwig van Beethoven
Again this is all only my opinion.
Dave
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