Synopses & Reviews
'An opinionated, stimulating account of how classical music failed to establish fruitful roots in America,' Classical Music in Americachronicles 'a cultural attitude that has produced many fine artists and striking moments'"but no institutional or intellectual support to sustain them' (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). 'An admirable, scholarly volume' (Times Literary Supplement), this 'formidable book ... shows how American classical music became a 'performance culture," an ersatz-European showplace for celebrity virtuosos, rather than a native-born genre' (The New Yorker). 'As a comprehensive, convincing analysis of the contemporary dilemma' of reconciling European heritage with American vision 'and a riveting portrait of the century and a half of events and personalities which brought it about, Mr Horowitz"s account would be hard to beat' (The Economist). 'Anyone seeking to understand why American classical music has come to so dead an end'"and wondering how it might yet escape a final descent into cultural irrelevance'"should read Classical Music in America with close attention' (Commentary).
Synopsis
CLASSICAL MUSIC IN AMERICA is a pioneering history by an award-winning scholar and leading authority on American symphonic culture. Joseph Horowitz argues that classical music in the United States is peculiarly performance-driven, and he traces a musical trajectory rising to its peak at the close of the nineteenth century and receding after World War I. He defines the decades of ascendancy as the quest for an American compositional voice, painting vivid vignettes of America's most celebrated performers and such pathbreaking institutions as the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. He explores a century of decline characterized by illustrious orchestras, conductors, and virtuosos, mostly foreign born, and in a final chapter he exposes a crisis of leadership and suggests new musical directions in our postmodern age. As with his acclaimed cultural histories, Horowitz here fashions a sweeping narrative--packed with personality and incident, textured by literature, sociology, and intellectual history--that freshly illuminates the American experience.
Synopsis
"An opinionated, stimulating account of how classical music failed to establish fruitful roots in America," chronicles "a cultural attitude that has produced many fine artists and striking moments--but no institutional or intellectual support to sustain them" (, starred review). "An admirable, scholarly volume" (), this "formidable book ... shows how American classical music became a 'performance culture,' an ersatz-European showplace for celebrity virtuosos, rather than a native-born genre" (). "As a comprehensive, convincing analysis of the contemporary dilemma" of reconciling European heritage with American vision "and a riveting portrait of the century and a half of events and personalities which brought it about, Mr Horowitz's account would be hard to beat" (). "Anyone seeking to understand why American classical music has come to so dead an end--and wondering how it might yet escape a final descent into cultural irrelevance--should read Classical Music in America with close attention" ().
Synopsis
"A splendid read, at once disturbing and illuminating."--
About the Author
Joseph Horowitz is the award-winning author of books on the American musical experience and is widely regarded as the leading historian of American concert life. He lives in New York City and currently serves as an artistic adviser for half a dozen American orchestras.