Classical Music by Phil G. Goulding Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Classical Music
Book Review: Useless if you want to learn about music...
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this book when I started my own "project" to learn about classical music a few years ago. Mr. Goulding's own motivations sounded a lot like my own -- an admitted amateur seeking to explore great music. The book is a dud, though. Mr. Goulding flaunts an almost cynical populism throughout the book. His Top 50 list (and many other lists contained in the book) are arbitrary. His writing style did little to keep my interest and he really makes no attempt to write knowledgeably about the music itself. If you're just getting into classical music and are confused about where to start, try Ted Libbey's "NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection" and the "Rough Guide to Classical Music." (There's a separate Rough Guide to Opera, which I haven't seen.) These books are written for the curious beginner by people who know about music and know how to write about it, and the authors respect their readers enough not to insult their intelligence. I wonder if Mr. Goulding expected anyone ever to read his book.Book Review: Where are the AMERICANS??!!!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
The only reason I give this book 3 stars is that I do enjoy the information about the composers listed. It's a very informative and entertaining book, suitable for both a beginner as well as a serious classical music lover (which I am!).
My main complaint is this: where are the Americans? This author seeme to go out of his way to not include any of them! I mean, really not include Copland, Ives or Gershwin? What about the great 20th century school of symphonists - Hanson, Piston, Sessions, Virgil Thomson, or William Schuman? Mr. Goulding, I think you need to reevaluate your list. Surely you could have included at least ONE of these! Even Bernstein is now widely considered to be a composer of recognition.
My other complaint is that he has also neglected some european composers who should have definitely made the list. I think anyone would put Elgar and Rachmaninoff on a list of top 50 greats.
For the information contained, very informative and readable, but for the ommissions listed above, 1 star!!!
Book Review: Why rank.....?
Summary: 2 Stars
Mr. Goulding's book has helped this fledgling ease his way into the world of classical music, the highest of arts and justification for mans existance (along with the great literature), but then again, it has also, for this first year of listening, dictated the idea that composers should be ranked.Being new to classical music, I readily swallowed Gouldings ranking system hook,line and sinker. It has obvious appeal- to the neophite totally confused on where to begin, what better way to have the great ones ranked in order of their "greatness" so as to know where to start. But the problem is, once you introduce that vein of thinking into the consciousnes of the avid, eager to learn listener, you automatically condemn him or her to the neverending and frantic fate of comparing and crosscomparing over and over again.
I was so busy aguring with myself why Bach should be better then Beethoven or Wagner that I became so swept up in this ranking so as to forget that it's the quality of each indivual piece of music that determines it's worth.
There's no reason to debate who was the "greatest". Everyone should decide that for themsleves, and even if their #1 isn't consider the "greatest", so what? As long and that music moves them, to each his own. Rather, Goulding preoccupies us with ranking them. To say Bach is #1, to me, is to automatically render any of Mozart's music just slightly inferior to Bach's.This should not be. I realize this wasn't Gouldings intention, but that's what it turns out to be.
Aside from the top three, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, his ranking seems very arbitrary and at times ludicrous. Example- he ranks Vivaldi somewhere in the 30's(I think) but then explains that he doesn't even LIKE Vivaldi very much, and a preferable choice would be Rachmaninoff, and there proceeds to render in two paragraphs his life and top five works. Really, what's the point?
And then, even amoung the top three, why rank them?
I happen to like Bach the most out of those three as he does, but that doesn't mean Bach is "better" then Mozart or Beethoven, but Goulding had me convinced of that for a long time.I stress again that it is in each persons own judgement to decide their own favorite, and not to negate other composers in the name of rank.
If only he had chosen not to rank and instead just appreciate each composer for their own unique qualities and the beauty of their music, this would have turned out far better. The great composers should be ordered chronologically, not ranked. Neophytes should look elsewhere.
Book Review: Witty and Well Written
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the best things in the book occurs before the author really gets going with the list. In the introduction, he describes how he complied the list. And it's great fun. Making value judgements seem an almost endangered species these days. Instead, here the author talks about his largely self-educative experience with classical music - from knowing nothing to becoming competent enough to write this witty book. Thus, if you are beginning a similarly self-taught journey into the intimidating and often confusing world of classical music, this book is a godsend.Book Review: Witty and informative
Summary: 5 Stars
Classical music has a reputation as being within the purview of elitists and snobs, which can deter the 'unsophisticated' from exploring this rich world.Fortunately, Phil Goulding beckons us from ahead, having been an amateur himself with little prior exposure. To make it easier on us, he writes with an easy flair. His reasonings and explanations are cogent without being overpowering; to the contrary, he has quite a bit of fun which he shares with the reader.
His "rules" for ranking the composers is tongue-in-cheek and serious at the same time. As a comparison, his rankings are similar to saying Mays and Ruth are the two greatest baseball players ever, and below them you've other greats: Mantle, Gehrig, Dimaggio, etc. He stresses that, rather than the rankings be set in stone, they should be debated and argued. His 'rules' remind the reader that, while it's acceptable to move people within the ranks, serious attention must be made to dropping Dimaggio's name from the 50 greatest ever (to complete the analogy).
The writing highlights differences between the different musical eras quite well. Additionally, each composer's history is filled with illuminating facts, odd quirks and bizarre stories. In short, they are humanized in such a way to make their works feel more accessible.
All in all, a great primer for the beginner.