In review--In appreciation of European Art Music
Book review How to Listen to Great Music A Guide to its History, Culture & Art Robert Greenberg Plume Book/Penguin I’m a music appreciation junkie and when I find a music appreciation book with a flowing narrative, theory that’s explained in a way I can understand, and biographical details of composers tossed in, I climb on board. I have taught music appreciation courses, but my focus was on world and folkloric music. Robert Greenberg, a composer and music historian not only teaches through the pages of How to Listen to Great Music , but he also teaches a series through his teaching company, Great Courses. In this book, he gets us started with medieval and renaissance music and then we’re off into the baroque, classical, romantic and post modern eras--starting with Gregorian chant and landing in the terrain of Arnold Schoenberg. We learn about fugues and musical structures from each of the musical/cultural eras as Greenber...