The NPR Classical Music Companion: An Essential Guide for Enlightened Listening

by Miles Hoffman

Book Overview

Whether you know a lot about music or nothing at all, Miles Hoffman will help you think about what you listen to and how you listen. This book is a great achievement. There's nothing else out there like it. -- Wynton Marsalis, composer, trumpeter, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in music

An irresistible tour through the lexicon of classical music, The NPR Classical Music Companionoffers an essential education certain to increase any listener's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618619453
• ISBN13: 9780618619450
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Musical Dictionary

This book is exactly what it says it is-terms and concepts from A to Z. Its a dictionary. It explains general classical music terms and phrases. One great thing about this book is you don't have to read it from beginning to end. Each entry in the book is well defined (sometimes a few pages long). I read the whole book and thought it was interesting, humorous, and educating. There are entries explaining many of the instruments in classical music (ones that are still used and some that are not). There are also sections on dynamics and notation with charts and a few helpful pictures. There is also a chart of equivalent notes.This book is by no means inclusive. It is however, a great starting point.Some of the terms included in this book are:absolute pitch, aria, arpeggio, beat, cadence, cantata, fugue, harmony, key, meter, opus number, pitch, rubato, scale, sonata, tempo and rhythm.Hope this helps you!

LIstening With Intelligence

Now anyone can understand the somewhat dazzyling array of Italian and other "foreign language" musical terms that are bantered about if one listens to classical music.Here Hoffman provides help in the form of this companion book which includes not only forte-piano to diminuendo, but also provides neat sections on musical instrument families and what I find really helpful, "Character Pieces" such as "Etude" "Scherzo" etc.Will enhance anyone's ability to understand what we're listening to.

Musical Training Wheels

This book is just what the doctor ordered for musical neophytes like myself who are looking for an accessible but authoritative crash course in basic musical terminology. If the difference between pizzicato and pianissimo continues to elude you, then read on. Two aspects of this book are particularly appealing. The first is Libbey's style, which is free-flowing and chatty, conveying often difficult ideas with impressive clarity (the articles on counterpoint and fugue are cases in point). Secondly, I was impressed by his essay-style approach to his various musical subjects; unlike a musical dictionary, which would be content to stop at mere definition, Libbey's book provides background, explanations, examples and opinions that do much to round out the material in the reader's mind. An impressive work indeed!

An excellent reference tool and well written.

Miles Hoffman's book is just as inventive and clever as his section "Coming to Terms" on NPR's Performance Today. His defintions are packed with information and witty commentary, necessitating its use for any classical music lover. For those in the business, or just those wanting to know more, Hoffman's guide is a must have because no other reference tool is as accessible or as clearly written. Suddenly, the lexicon of classical music is no longer out of reach, but instead understandable and affordable in this wonderful guide to terms.

This book is compulsively readable, witty, and learned.

If you like music, you'll love this book! Imagine that a wise and talkative friend, who clearly loves music himself and has a sparkling sense of humor, has undertaken to patiently and clearly explain to you what musical terms mean and why they're important. The Classical Music Companion has the tone that that friendly, well-informed voice would take. This is a compulsively readable, well-organized, beautifully laid out work that can be approached on many levels - it's suitable for "laypeople" or musicians - and that never talks down to its audience. I read this book with great enjoyment and I recommend it wholeheartedly. It's a mandatory addition for the library of anyone who cares about music and wants to know more about its mysteries.