Masterworks of 20th-Century Music: The Modern Repertory of the Symphony Orchestra [Paperback] Review

"Masterworks of 20th-century music" is written nicely enough, but I had hoped for something which focused more on the music and less on biographical tidbits.If I needed to know biographical info I would read a biography.
Of course, this is the same problem with 99% of the program notes written today; nobody seems to have ears for the music.

I give a minor warning to take things in this book cum grano solis. For example, the article on Ravel's G major piano concerto twice in one paragraph declares the second movement to have a 'languid horn' solo -- but it is an English Horn, not a horn.To musicians, a "horn" is a brass instrument with or without valves, while the lanquid tenor double reed instrument is the cor anglais or English Horn.

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Product Description:
Masterworks of 20th-Century Music introduces over 100 of the greatest compositions by world composers that have entered the standard orchestral repertory.The author surveyed dozens of major American orchestras to find which pieces are commonly performed, and has focused on these works that an average audience member is most likely to hear.Among the popular pieces profiled are Aaron Copland'sAppalachian Spring; Gustav Holst's The Planets; Igor Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps; Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915; George Gershwin's An American in Paris; Charles Ives's Three Places in New England; and many more.With each entry is given a wealth of information about: the composer, when and where the piece was first performed, in what "style" it was composed, and a basic analysis of the music. This book serves the general reader interested in 20th-century music, plus students, teachers, and scholars.

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The Music of Conlon Nancarrow (Music in the Twentieth Century) [Paperback] Review

Conlon Nancarrow was a creative genious.Although quite possibly the most rhythmically complex and original music ever composed in its time, his music sounds pleasant enough to appeal to those who have no (vested)interest in the science of music.In addition to introducing the manbehind the music, this book provides a thorough and accurate analysis ofthe numerous rhythmic/melodic devices first used by Nancarrow.I believemany of the concepts (such as the hypermeasure) presented in this bookpoint toward the inevitable future of World Art Music.Reading this bookhas inspired numerous of my own compositions, as well as rhythm etudeswhich have liberated my sense of meter as a jazz improviser.This book isessential reading not only for Nancarrow enthusiasts, but also for thosesearching for new directions to explore, and those interested in theconvergence of Western Art Music and World Music (such as North Indianclassical).

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Conlon Nancarrow has written the most rhythmically complex music the world has ever known, so complex that it can only be realized on a mechanical player piano. Yet Nancarrow's whirlwinds of notes, sometimes as many as eighty per second, are jazzy and infectiously joyous. The music he composed in almost complete isolation from 1940 on has only recently achieved international fame, and this is the first book to cover in detail Nancarrow's life and compositional achievements. The book includes analysis of sixty-five works and previously unpublished biographical information.

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