The Vintage Guide to Classical Music

by Jan Swafford

The most readable and comprehensive guide to enjoying over five hundred years of classical music -- from Gregorian chants, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, and beyond.

The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is a lively -- and opinionated -- musical history and an insider's key to the personalities, epochs, and genres of the Western classical tradition. Among its
-- chronologically arranged essays on nearly 100 composers, from Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) to Aaron Copland (1900-1990), that combine biography with detailed analyses of the major works while assessing their role in the social, cultural, and political climate of their times;
-- informative sidebars that clarify broader topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movement;
-- a glossary of musical terms, from a cappella to woodwinds;
-- a step-by-step guide to building a great classical music library.

Written with wit and a clarity that both musical experts and beginners can appreciate, The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is an invaluable source-book for music lovers everywhere.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Classical Music, Art, Biography

624 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 1992

About the author

Jan Swafford is a composer and writer. His musical works range from orchestral and chamber to film and theater music, including four pieces for orchestra, Midsummer Variations for piano quintet, They That Mourn for piano trio, They Who Hunger for piano quartet, From the Shadow of the Mountain for string orchestra and the theatrical work, Iphigenia, for choir, instruments and a narrator.

Swafford's music has been played around the country and abroad by ensembles including the symphonies of Indianapolis, St. Louis, Harrisburg, Springfield, Jacksonville, Chattanooga and the Dutch Radio. Among his honors are a National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Composers Grant and two Massachusetts Artists Council Fellowships. His work appears on CRI recordings and is published by Peer Southern. From 1999-2002, he was Composer-in-Residence of Market Square Concerts in Harrisburg.

Swafford holds degrees in music from Harvard and Yale. His teachers have included Jacob Druckman, Earl Kim and, at Tanglewood, Betsy Jolas. From 1988-1989 he was a Mellon Faculty Fellow at Harvard. Swafford currently teaches music history, theory and composition at The Boston Conservatory.

As a musical journalist and scholar, Swafford has appeared in Slate, Guardian International, Gramophone, Symphony and 19th-Century Music. He has written program notes for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), the Chicago and San Francisco Symphonies, Chamber Music at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall programs and Naxos and Sony Classical Recordings. Since 1998, he has participated in musical features on Nation Public Radio (NPR's) Performance Today and Morning Edition, and he is a regular preconcert lecturer for the BSO. His books include The Vintage Guide to Classical Music and the biographies, Charles Ives: A Life with Music from Norton (nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award, winner of the PEN/Winship prize) and Johannes Brahms: A Biography from Knopf. Currently, Swafford is writing a biography of Beethoven for Houghton Mifflin.

Reviews

[Paul Secor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is as fine an introduction to Wester classical music as I've come across, although the title is somewhat of a misnomer. The book is a guide to classical composers. The other side of the musical equation - performances - is not discussed. Jan Swafford gives his reasons for this omission and I'm ok with that. EXCEPT - at one point, he makes the statement: "some quite famous names have never made an outstanding recording." As an acquaintance of mine used to say - if you're going to throw innuendos out there, name names. I'd certainly be interested in seeing some of those names.

Jan Swafford is a very good writer, and he's fair in his opinions. And, as he admits in his introduction, "Inevitably, since I have opinions, some of them lurk between the lines and a few creep into the lines." Examples - see his comments on Wagner, Terry Riley, and Phillip Glass.

Recommended.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this continuously rather than jumping around chronologically and I recommend the approach. I more clearly understood the evolution of style and instrument design in a way I had not before.
I am not a musician and do not read music but mostly the text was approachable and useful to me.

The author writes respectfully but in a simple prose that is easy to read and assimilate.

Included in the book are short biographies of prominent composers, a glossary, and a recommended classical library.

Recommended.

[Giuseppe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. Jan Swafford is not only intelligent but approachable. His vocabulary astounds me, and the there is nothing to say about how enriching the biographies and "side-bars" are. This book is fantastic for every level of music lover - from performer to listener to historian to veteran to novice to beginner. Jan Swafford has done something special for the world in creating undersized-easy-to-use - guide to western "classical" music from circa. 1200-1992... there are endless things to say about his book. His is also a philosopher and though his bias shine through during some of the biographies he generally retains his ranting for the epilogue, which is not a rant but a humanitarian gift of written benevolence, it is the new age passion of a peacful, understanding and progressive person. If it is possible, this book could stand alone from music, forget that the people are musician, forget that this is an art - this book The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is a great book!

[Eric Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It sounds simple enough: write a series of short essays about all the classical composers that truly matter. The result though is actually a coherent and comprehensive tour through the language of the music, the composers themselves, and the evolution of the techniques and orchestration used over the centuries - and it is FUN to read.

The writing style is jaunty and descriptive and deeply reflective of the music being described. Try to describe sound, music, has got to be one of the most difficult challenges there is in writing, but Jan Swafford never waivers, the book is compelling and colorful all the way through. Picked at random, here's a typical description, "In contrast to the thunderous playing of Liszt, Chopin never used fortissimo but rather shaded his dynamics downward toward the intimate and nearly inaudible." Or how about this description of Wagner, "By the late nineteenth century he would haunt the Western cultural tradition as pervasive myth and sacred monster." You just must read on.

This book also provides carefully chosen advice on which music you should start with for each composer. Within the body of the book these are detailed with Swafford’s usual colorful and concise language. At the back, an appendix summarizes his recommendations. So far this appendix has cost me several hundred dollars in happily spent purchases, with many more to come.

If you are at all interested in the subject of classical music then this is a splendid gateway.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of four general guides I own to classical music. I have other books specifically on orchestral, concerto, chamber, choral and opera, but this is one that covers all the different forms. The Miller Barnes and Noble Introduction to Music goes over such things as tone, rhythm, melody, etc. The Hurwitz Beethoven or Bust goes over the various forms (the concerto, for instance) and their various types. Goulding's Classical Music concentrates on the core repertory--"The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works." The Vintage Guide to Classical Music focuses more on the composers than the forms, but is more eclectic and comprehensive. Goulding includes very few Medieval or Renaissance or many Modern composers--while Swafford's Vintage Guide includes biographies and naming of the important pieces to know of de Machaut, Dufay, Desprez, di Lasso, Monteverdi, Ives, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Britten. In the back there's a useful section of a suggested classical library from Gregorian Chant to Phillip Glass.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up as my starting point into the world of classical music, and I couldn't be more pleased with my choice. I found a first favorite composer (Beethoven, quite obviously! But also Brahms and Wagner and Prokofiev), and gained some great insight into appreciating the music in general. I found myself itching for more depth into the pieces or into the process of listening to music, but rather than a detraction, I see that as a strength: Swafford got me itching to go deeper. I've picked up Grove's classic, Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies next. Definitely a step up. We'll see how it goes for music-illiterate me.
Highest recommendation.

[Quiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guides that claim to be indispensable often invite doubt about their status. Nonetheless, a detailed reading of 'The Vintage Guide to Classical Music' has shown the book to be flowing, interesting, occasionally humorous, and comprehensive given its small size. The author is aware of the book's deficits and highlights them whenever relevant (like the lack of women representation, which is mostly due to historical reasons).

This is a highly recommended general reference for classical music.

[Coruxa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta es mi segunda lectura (o tercera, o cuarta, muchas veces leo compositores concretos una y otra vez) y solo quería dejar por escrito que este libro es maravilloso y que Jan Swafford es un verdadero genio con las palabras, consiguiendo que te intereses por un tema tan aparentemente inaccesible. Hay que leer su biografía de Beethoven. Se necesita cierto conocimiento musical, y por eso en el libro ya se encarga de explicarte estos conceptos de forma muy entendible. Es una guía estupenda para iniciarse en la música académica, y para volver a ella cuando se necesite. Un punto de partida excelente para cualquier melómano y un libro perfecto de principio a fin. Sin duda, de mis favoritos.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite introductory guide to classical music. I love Swafford's style - high-flown, personal, inspiring, sometimes touching, sometimes snarky. The little essays on technical subjects are clear but it's the historical overview that has been really helpful to me. I've got books on most of my favourites but it's nice to have my understanding of their works reinforced and, often, expanded. I also enjoyed seeing just where other composers I know little about, like Monteverdi and Domenico Scarlatti, fitted into musical history and which of their works are the most rewarding (to buy!)

[mckinsey]

sometimes you just get an insatiable urge to learn about classical music but there's no good podcasts or movies about all of the big composers so you find a reference book containing all of the biggies in a used record shop in frinton, england and you read it every day for nearly a month

[iam-mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dẫn nhập nhạc cổ điển với hướng tiếp cận qua các thời kỳ và qua các nhà soạn nhạc nổi bật trong từng thời kỳ. Có phần giới thiệu tổng quan về một số khái niệm trong nhạc lý, hỗ trợ mình hiểu hơn về cấu trúc của nhạc cổ điển.

Phạm vi rộng, cấu trúc mạch lạc, lối viết thẳng thắn, giàu thông tin và thi thoảng thể hiện khiếu hài hước có phần châm biếm. Các quan điểm cá nhân về nhạc cổ điển nói chung được diễn đạt sáng rõ và lập luận thuyết phục.

Đọc nhẩn nha, có thể theo thứ tự hoặc theo sở thích nghe nhạc, vừa đọc vừa nghe dần các tác phẩm gợi ý. Nếu mới quan tâm đến nhạc cổ điển, cuốn này làm hành trình bớt bối rối hơn nhiều.

Một điều mình mong giá mà cuốn sách làm khác đi là: Trong mỗi bài viết, có thể tập trung giới thiệu tác phẩm và điểm xuyết thông tin tiểu sử liên quan, thay vì tách biệt 2 phần tiểu sử nhà soạn nhạc và giới thiệu tác phẩm, dẫn tới một số đoạn của 2 phần trùng ý mà nằm khá xa nhau.

P.S: Đọc bản tiếng Anh cập nhật kha khá các từ mới đấy, vốn từ tác giả dùng để diễn tả các tác phẩm phong phú thực sự.

3.5/5

[Jay Gabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real pleasure to read. Because Swafford has a justified confidence that he isn't a snob, he doesn't need to engage in any knee-jerk populism when writing about this freighted subject. Writing fairly and engagingly about the relative strengths and weaknesses of several dozen individuals who are all gods among men--with fewer than 600 pages, there's no space for mere demigods--is a real achievement.

My favorite two lines are from the section on twentieth-century composers:

*"Based on a medieval collection of songs by wandering students and runaway monks, [Carmina Burana] forms a vivacious manifesto of the undergraduate mentality and its perennial agenda."

*"The music of Philip Glass is generally based on simple rippling lines repeated over and over, with slow metamorphoses. In the process the ideas, which are not necessarily interesting to begin with, do not become any more interesting."

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did it! Felt a bit like homework making it through the full book, but I feel much more confident in my grasp of Western classical music and music history. And there are times when the author is pretty savagely funny: “The music of Philip Glass is generally based on simple rippling lines repeated over and over, with slow metamorphoses. In the process the ideas, which are not necessarily interesting to begin with, do not become any more interesting.”

The book is structured as a collection of mini-biographies on the composers that the author considers to be pillars of Western classical music, with a few essays on musical concepts like tonality or sonata form awkwardly interspersed throughout. It shows its age with a focus on almost exclusively white male composers (Scott Joplin only gets mentioned in passing in the section covering Stravinsky!). But for the composers it does focus on it does a nice job of giving the broad strokes of their life trajectories and their music. The author also has a talent for sketching them as distinct characters and trying to glimpse inside their heads emotionally.

Each mini-biography is accompanied by a helpful set of corresponding music recommendations to introduce you to the different types of work produced by each composer. Thankfully, streaming makes it super easy to sample these musical highlights — it must’ve been rough 30+ years ago when this was written. Listening along as I was reading helped me get a much better sense of my own music taste.

The mini biographies helped me appreciate composers I had previously written off by giving me the context needed to get into the right mindset for them. Learning that Mozart sometimes liked to leap around on furniture like a cat, for example, helped me to relax and approach his music more playfully. And for the Classical period in general (which I had previously considered to be pretty boring), I learned that the predictability is on purpose. People wanted a break from the overly ornamented Baroque period and resonated with the minimalism of the Classical style. Understanding this has oriented my ear toward the occasional places where Mozart and Haydn beautifully and ingeniously defy your musical expectations.

If you’re looking for a book to take you chronologically through music history in biographical form, this is a solid choice. The vocabulary is pretty florid and can read as pretentious, so be forewarned if your dictionary is a bit dusty. 4/5

[Jack Caulfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really engaging guide to the history of classical music. In keeping with the more staid tradition it documents, it's a much more carefully structured and considered book than Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!, divided into individual essays on the various major composers, chronologically arranged and split into periods. Each essay gives an account of the composer's (often tragic) life—these are written with endearing humour and pathos—and then recommends major compositions to start with for that composer (all handily compiled in an appendix). Interspersed throughout are essays on key concepts like (a)tonality and sonata form. I think it would take more than these (and the fairly comprehensive glossary) to really arrive at a full understanding of the musical concepts involved, but the book is intended as a history more than anything. It's also generously illustrated with a great selection of images, and the format is lovely—it's a real joy to read.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of Jan Swafford’s A Vintage Guide to Classical Music, he provides his readers with “A Classical Library” of the composers and works mentioned in his book. Preferable recordings are excluded; though a single piece of classical music can have hundreds of recordings (anyone in doubt can search for Bach relude in C Major on Spotify), sometimes several of those recordings are nicely done and often become outdated as recording technology improves and better captures the sonic nooks and crannies of an real orchestra. Instead, Swafford reccommends The New Penguin Guide to Compact Discs or the Record Shelf Guide.

One might ask, then, how Swafford’s guide differs. Swafford tells a kind of history through biographical portraits of several composers, ordered chronologically and peppered with introductions on certain eras or movements in music history (eg. Romanticism, Modernism). The biographical treatments lasts ten or fifteen pages, and any others worthy of a mention tend to get a couple paragraphs at the end of each of the book’s six chronological groupings. Those biographies usually proceed in a highly predictable fashion, as if Swafford was more cataloguer than storyteller. He’ll begin with a quippy paragraph to set the tone, for instance:

“Domenico Scarlatti is the great enigma of the Baroque. Of his life and character the record reveals more questions than answers.”

These are always memorable and enjoyable, but tend to lose their sense of surprise once the reader is familiar with Swaffords formula. Next, Swafford will provide a single sentence describing the composer’s birthplace, birth date, and complete god given name:

“He was born to an illustrious musical family in Naples on October 26, 1865, and christened Giuseppe Domenico.”

Then parents, education, and early compostions followed by the biographical meat of the composer’s life. The “meat” is usually in their famous compositions, how they may have been composed, and the public’s response. But not always; sometimes the biographical content of a life is too exciting and Swafford steps in as storyteller, not instructor. Take this quote from is essay on Beehtoven:

“Where Mozart could dream up a whole piece in his head while playing billiards, Beehtoven had to worry and whip every note into place in his sketches… As he composed he sang and belllowed and cursed and pounded his fists as if he were tortured by all the demons of his own imperfections.”

Gripping and artful. Moreover, there are two notable patterns here. First, that his prose is excellently figured and can be wildly entertaining. Second, that he’ll spend time orienting you to one composer by mentioning another who appeared previously. When reading this book cover to cover, such information helps to wade between the different singing corpses piled up by Swafford. (After all, without the proper guide, it’s just a lot of noise.) But should you flip to the section on Mozart when you’d like to prepare yourself for a production of The Magic Flute, you might be a little confused.

So how should this book be read? Like I’ve said, Swafford spends too much time with formulaic cataloguing to make this a worthwhile when read straignt through. He’s best, I think, when read in bits and pieces, page by page. After the biographical dinner is done, Swafford will carefully present key pieces and in which order he thinks you should listen to them. He’ll describe a work, it’s structures and beauties, providing guidance when it should be experienced live or with a specific recording. I’d suggest you listen to those pieces as he reccommends them, parsing through page by page and literally using Swafford’s text as your “guide.” He isn’t fluid enough in his narrative strokes to have built a complete history and he fails at the terseness required for the brute reference material of a Record Shelf Guide.

Those completely new to classical music might be glad to hear that Swafford has also peppered his guide with a few shorter essays on subjects like “Melody” and “Consonance and Dissonance.” Unfortunately, they’re positioned awkwardly in the text, appearing at irregular interavals and splitting the page with the middle of another essay. These shorter essays are too limited in their detail to be useful and too restricted by their medium to be instructive. They break up the natural flow of text and might be better off interwoven through a history of classical music or given to a book of their own. Moreover, they’re superseded in their limited use by an extensive glossary or the modern availability of instructional videos on YouTube and the rest of the internet.

Swafford’s Guide finishes with an afterword titled “Music: An Approach to Defining the Indefinable.” At turns prosaic and beautiful, one sentence will find Swafford furnishing his reader with obligatory (if somewhat obvioius) statements:

“There remains, of course, the indisputable fact that music can evoke feelings. So can a sunset. Yet music does not really contain feelings any more than a sunset does; both are simply things in the air, physical phenomena.”

Well wrought and essential, but bland. Yet elsewhere, Swafford modulates into the purely beautiful:

“When humanity is exalted, music is exalted; when humanity is debased, music is debased. It is entertaining, it is oppressive, it is frightening, inspiring, trivial, exhilarating, sensual, it moves us to awe. It accompanies our orgies and our prayers, our battles and our rituals, our sins and our salvations. At its most profound and best, music is the ideal stimulus for humanity's eternal meditation on the mystery of its own being.”

Swafford’s book is a long meditation with no sweeping arcs. If you read The Vintage Guide to Classical Music, you’ll have the welcome oppurtunity to breeze through slick recitative, squirreling away many important notes, but you’ll stop and remember his arias.

[Qing Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming book, elegantly written and with good humor and faith.

Even for a perfect lay person to classical music or western music in general, this collection of hundreds of composers in the long history could be a pleasant and enjoyable reading. One gets to know the famous composers better, gets a glimpse of their lives, personalities, their struggles and experiments, passion or indifference, uncompromising or striving to please the audience, and, great craftsmanship and ingenuity.

And it's not dry. The book reminds us that music evokes emotion. In the end, all the theories and history help us to understand better how generation after generation composers and musicians explore the possibilities, while audiences, contemporary or with some years or decades or even centuries in between, make choices in accordance with their hearts and souls at the moment.

[Amanda Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any musician that’s just started at university. I read this book during my first winter break in my undergrad, and when I came back to school I felt like I understood more about composers and the history of music than most people in their fourth year! It is an extremely valuable book full of information that is needed for any classical musician. Swafford is a fairly well known writer in the classical music world because his information is dense but also accessible, making it a fun, worthwhile read!

[vireey]

I’ve always wanted a comprehensive book about Western classical music, and I found this one not only incredibly helpful but also thoroughly enjoyable to read. Swafford’s writing is excellent, and I didn’t mind—in fact, I often loved—that he shared his opinions throughout. It gives the book a personal touch, making it feel far more engaging than a mere collection of Wikipedia pages. It made me want to dive deeper into the lives of many composers.

His opening line about Haydn made me chuckle. it was a perfect tribute to Papa Haydn.

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recommend this highly enough if you want to get a broad strokes history of Classical music and to understand its various forms. The author disappears into the clouds sometimes with his analysis of a song (I'm not an advanced enough musician to confirm that Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 is indeed flirtatious, bold, and aloof) but the history and personal anecdotes about each musician make a very fun read.

[Wesley Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of reading in 2023 is that while reading a book like this, you can listen to each artist you’re reading about. With that, I would highly recommend reading the book start to finish instead of reading certain composers when you specifically need them. You’ll really learn a lot about not just the composers but the why’s and how’s in the evolution of Western music.

[Lysander VK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty hard to top this. Great biographies on most of the big names, breakdowns on forms, and a fantastic musical library guide. I just finished this this morning, yet I've already found myself going back to specific biographies after listening to a composer to put the music in a new context.

[Kabir Chugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encyclopedic,, interesting, and immensely useful for beginners

[Eye Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Vintage Guide to Classical Music" helped me to see Classical music less broadly & generally "Classical" and narrowed & divided my focus into different Classical music periods.

[Amie · Rating 4 out of 5]

没有读完。写勃拉姆斯的有几段妙趣横生，有一页拍了图存在手机里，不时拿出来看一眼，读一次乐一次。

[Stewart Lindstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant introduction/refresher for me. Excellent for someone who wants to dip their toes into the rich tradition of Western choral and orchestral music.

[Julian Westerlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just about every composer in Western canon of classical music display the most marvelous “will to originality” or “will to authenticity”. Every composer revered their predecessors to the point of being ashamed of the possibility of ever composing anything remotely close them.
-Beethoven in regard to Handel: “To him I bend the knee. For Handel is the greatest, ablest composer that ever lived”.
-Brahms in the shadow of Beethoven: “You will never know how the likes of us feel when we hear the tramp of a giant like Beethoven behind us”
-Bruckner at the feet of Wagner (literally): “Master, I worship you!”

This reverence appears to be the driving force for musical progression. If it is a sin to copy from the masters, then you yourself must innovate something new. Within ~400 years and 4 eras of music, unimaginable progress took place.

————————————

Some of my favorite quotes from

From Haydn (makes me respect him a lot more as a result):
“Often, as I struggled with obstacles of every kind opposed to my works—often, as my physical and mental power sank and I had difficulty in keeping to my chosen course—an inner voice whispered to me: ‘There are so few happy and contented men here below—on every hand care and sorrow pursue them— perhaps your work may someday be a source from which men laden with anxieties and burden with affairs may derive a few moments of rest and refreshment.’ This, then, was a powerful motive to persevere, this the reason why I can even now look back with profound satisfaction on what I have accomplished.”

Baller.

This one from Tchaikovsky about his 6th symphony; the last work he even produced (and probably my favorite symphony): “I give you my word of honor, that never in my life have I been so contented, so proud, so happy, in the knowledge that I have written a good piece.”

——————————————————

——————
Page 308, on Antonín Dvořák: “He had a childlike obsession with railroads and would sometimes travel for miles to watch a favorite train go by. It is said that he visited stations so regularly and knew the schedules so well that people assumed he was a train conductor.”

There’s no way this dude didn’t have autism. Savant composer.

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what this adult piano student was looking for - some context and background for the pieces/composers I've been playing. This is more of a reference book than something to read cover to cover and there's a lot of material here. I made my way through the composers I was most interested in, but plan on buying the book for second and third readings as my experience playing and exposure to classical music grows. The structure is simple: an overview of each musical era with chapters on the most prominent composers of each era. Each chapter contains a biography of the composer, followed by a discussion of his contributions to the era and provides a list of his quintessential pieces for listening. Also sprinkled throughout are essays on musical forms and concepts (ie, fugues, cannons, polyphony...) Well researched, well written, wry sense of humor. I found myself reading this with book in one hand, phone in other dialing up YouTube videos of the pieces I was reading about - great hands on resource for a musical education.

[Mesoscope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This serviceable overview of the history of classical music is primarily a collection of biographies of the lives of major composers. It gives short shrift to music before the classical period, which is a shame because the story of Medieval and Renaissance music is every bit as interesting and rather less well known than more recent developments. Swafford is a lively writer and the lives of composers are rarely dull.

His treatment of Wagner left me disgusted and bitter, but then many music historians completely misunderstand that colossus and his art. I also cannot share his extreme high regard of Brahms. At least we agree on Beethoven and Bach.

This is an excellent guide for someone interested in music history who utterly abhors any mention of theory or winces that the appearance of a staff. However, I would have loved to see much more on the development of instruments, compositional styles, forms, and notation, and fewer anecdotes.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

More likely 4.5 stars. I love it.

Classical music has always enchanted me, but at the same time eluded me. It is, as Jacques Barzun said in his From Dawn to Decadence, the most difficult art form. As a result, I succumbed, I let go. I listened but I did not try anything further. Yet, this Vintage Guide made me want to try again.

Highly recommended.

[OldManBrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not start listening or reading about classical music in depth until I was well into adulthood. This is the book that hooked me. I have returned to it more often than any other on the topic along with Howard C. Schonberg's "The Lives of the Great Composers." Swafford's writing is insightful and engaging, and his eloquence is especially notable in the final summation of the composers he clearly admires the most.

Five stars: An excellent read that had a number of superb qualities.