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. <BR>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 features: <BR>-- 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; <BR>-- informative sidebars that clarify broader topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movement; <BR>-- a glossary of musical terms, from a cappella to woodwinds; <BR>-- a step-by-step guide to building a great classical music library. <BR>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.

Features chronologically arranged essays on some 100 composers--their lives, work, and times; sidebars clarifying topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movements; a glossary of musical terms; and a guide to building a classical music library. Written with wit and clarity. Illustrated (in b&w) with photos and paintings.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 559-561) and index.

Composer and writer Jan Swafford received degrees from Harvard and the Yale School of Music; his work has been played throughout the United States and abroad. Among his awards are an NEA Composers Grant, a Tanglewood Fellowship and a Mellon Faculty Fellowship at Harvard.