Norton Anthology of Western Music

by Claude V. Palisca and J. Peter Burkholder

Book Overview

Revised and enlivened commentaries closely examine the scores to clarify their historical significance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393925625
• ISBN13: 9780393925623
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 1472 Pages
• Weight: 4.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 7.1" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

The 6th edition still sets the standard !

I remember the First edition of Grout's "A History of Western Music"--it was the main text in use when I was a first year undergraduate student. In fact it was one of the standard texts in use at a large number of colleges. The good news is that I was pleased to see the excellent changes. I didn't have to look far to find my first (1 st) edition Grout ( I've used it still until I purchased this new 6th edition several weeks ago)--there are 101 more pages of text. In reality there is much more to look at as the 1st edition book was only 6 x 9 inches. The new 6th Edition is larger: 7 1/4 by 10 1/2 inches. In addition, there is a highly attractive layout; the best feature? A wonderful highlighted-in-blue area (appearing every 40 pages or so) in which the composers themselves speak about a wonderful range of topics such as Francois Couperin 'On the Union of the Italian and French Styles' or, the great J.S. Bach's description of one the church service's he organized (known as an 'Order of Service') taken from a collection of his memoirs. Lastly, I enjoyed seeing the addition of an overall "Time-Line of Events" which prefaces each unit. This includes not only items from music, but any historical event which remotely affected change in music or musical thought. My singluar critical note is perhaps something which the authors had little time to devote to. The 6th edition ends with composers who, in this reviewer's opinion, were certainly not 'mainstream'--like John Cage (1912-1992) (who's infamous "4'33" is actually a period of four minutes and thirythree seconds in which the 'performer' remains totally silent). Cage was popular in the late 70s more for his extremism than anything else. The last paragraph of the book does state, in effect, that composers are being more sensitive to their audiences. (No doubt! Their INsensitivity nearly killed classical music in the 70s) As with any textbook, deadlines must limit speculation--there will undoubtedly be a 7th edition to address more changes in our musical world. Lastly, the reader should take note that the current author of this work, Claude V. Palisca, is also the author of the "Norton Anthology of Music" which can be used in conjunction with this text. Also, the publisher, W.W.Norton and Co., has a website for readers (which is also mentioned in the text: http://www.wwnorton.com/grout.). The website is still active (I just visited it) and has a wealth of information and listening resources---too bad we didn't have this back in 1967 !

A Comprehensive Anthology of Scores

This is the second volume of the Norton Anthology of Western Music. While the first Volume covers Music of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, this one deals with Music from the Classical, Romantic, Contemporary and Modern Periods. The book offers a selection of scores (92 in total) from several composers, from a period that spans over 250 years (earliest score from 1733, latest from 1966). The composers that are covered include (almost) all the "Big Names" of what people usually refer to as "classical" music: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Berlioz, Mendelsshon, Liszt, Chopin, Schubert, Schumman, Bruckner, Rossini, Bellini, Wagner, Verdi, Mahler, Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, and so on (57 in this volume, 152 in total). The only noticeable absences on a first reading of the index are perhaps Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Schostakovitsch. However, given the restrictions of space that are inherent to any written medium, the Anthology still manages to remain quite comprehensive. On the other hand, very few, if any, comments or analyses of the scores are offered for each of the pieces (always following the music). Pieces that involve vocals (i.e. excerpts from operas) are supplemented with an English translation besides than the orginal text. The scores themselves are 'full' scores and not piano reductions. Naturally, this causes some scores that involve rich orchestration (i.e. the first movement of Beethoven's Third Symphony) to be printed in small fonts, which in turn may take its toll in the readability of the music. Still, one always needs to remember the restricions of space that accompany any written medium-it's either small fonts or fewer scores.Two notes of warning: first, the book is not accompanied by any music. It contains simply the printed scores. A good choice for supplementing the two volume set, is Hannig's Concise History of Western Music with its 4 CD set. Although the CD set does not contain all music of the two volumes, it does contain a good protion of it(about 60-70%) and has a user friendly, easy to understand cross-reference system with the two volumes. Additionally, the book may offer the much needed commentary and background in some cases. Second note of warning: as any anthology, this one, too, is merely a represenative sample. It is not a 'Greatest Hits' collection-for example you won't find Beethoven's Fifth or Ninth in it, or even the complete score of a large scale piece(i.e. Operas or Symhonies). What is included are excerpts (whole Movements for example), and shorter complete pieces (i.e. Chopin's E-flat Major Nocturne), that from the editors' perspective present a more or less complete landscape of Music from where Vol. 1 concludes and up to today. Naturally, omissions are inevitable, especially when one looks for balance. The four stars (and not five) are mainly because of the choice of scores at some points, at the choice (or omission) of composers at others, and, mainly, for the lack of more comp

The beset in its field -- revised or not

Contrary to the views of the reviewer from San Francisco, the newly-revised fifth edition is much improved over the third and fourth editions. While I will agree that some book companies promote "newness" as a novlety, I don't agree that such is the case with this book. New discoveries are made about the history of music, especially early music, every year. If books such as this one weren't revised on a regular basis, the text wouldn't necessarily be accurate. Imagine writing a research paper on space travel using a set of enclopedias from 1962; it just won't work. This is by far the best book in its field. For some readers, it may be too concise, as I've heard many complaints that it's dry, boring reading. Well, it's a history textbook, not a Danielle Steele novel, so what would you expect?

This is the finest text on the history of western music.

This book is Donald J. Grout's masterpiece. Scholarly, detailed, and carefully considered, it includes analyses of pieces from every period in the history of western music. Grout interweaves the development of harmony, rhythm, and usage with the evolution of various instruments and vocal trends, and presents all in the context of social and political history.

A definitive history of Western art music

"A History of Western Music" is a standard reference text for the academic study of "classical" art music from antiquity to the present (i.e. 1960). As an example of this book's scholarly authority, the 5th edition is commonly the sole information source for many Master's of Music history qualifying exams. Author and Cornell professor emeritus Donald Grout writes with a straightforward style and elucidates his prose with many colorful pictures and musical examples. All those looking for a thorough, single volume survey of Western art music should make this book the first addition to their library.