Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers and Corporate Politics

by Norman Lebrecht

Book Overview

A sequel of sorts to The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power, Who Killed Classical Music? continues British author and critic Norman Lebrecht's version of the saga of how presenting... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1559724153
• ISBN13: 9781559724159
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Birch Lane Press
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Excellent writer makes sense of chaotic field

Behind the media hype surrounding this or that performance or artist lie byzantine machinations. Kingmakers jockeying for position. Sexual politics. Mean actions taken by smallminded people temporarily in power. Some of mediocre talent are practically beatified while others with extraordinary gifts seem to wither away almost unnoticed. Sometimes it's a question of whose side the critics are on at any given moment or who has gotten more press--or even who requires fewer retakes in the recording studio, since that means the production will cost less. Lebrecht tells you all about the backroom ugliness that helps to create the uneven playing field that serious musicians find such an impediment to their survival. Although it requires some background from the reader, this book is a must-read for everyone interested in classical music!

Read the Answers

Here is the one book that needs to be read by anyone genuinelycurious about what has caused the decline in interest in classical music worldwide. The situation is probably worse in the US than other places, butthere are world-wide trends at work, and this author exploresall the causes. Not only does he explore those causes in ourown time, he has reseached the history of the recording industryto such an extent, you feel at times like you are reading ascholarly publication. Then at other times, where the authoractually names some of the names who have caused the declineof classical music and who cause this type music to be held incontempt by many, and abandoned by most others, you have the feel of reading a supermarket tabloid.The writer has researched all the pioneers in recording and radio, and he has seemingly interviewed all survivors of thatera, as well as most participants in the current music scene,and there doesn't appear to be a stone unturned in his work.Many of the names will be unfamiliar to most readers, but thewriter documents their contribution to both the rise and declineof classical music.And, as said, he actually names the names of some of the individual "stars" who have so abused the system, and the publictrust, we have to wonder who in the world continues supportingsuch grasping, selfish, egomanical performers and agents, aswell as some of the corporate owners and sponsors. He even atone point names the world-famous conductor who apparently abuseschildren in his travels, and it's a wonder such a man can evencross international borders. Such is the power of stardom, evenin the world of classical music.As you can see, there are a multitude of causes for the declineof classical music, and this writer names them all.There is very little hope for the continuation of the presentaton of live concerts of any kind, outside the very largest cities, which are put on for the rich and elite, so theresult is rather a somber review, but the author only presentsthe facts.However, there is slight hope, and he names the handful ofalternatives that seem to be surviving, and sometimes expanding,the availability of good classical music.This has to be a "must" for anyone interested in either the history of classical music, and its ties with radio and therecording industry, or in its future.There is almost too much detail for some readers, but it needsto be there for a full understanding; in spite of the depth ofthe writer's research, he presents it in an interesting fashion,and there are many parts of the book which are very difficult toput down.If interested in this subject, rush out and get a copy now.

A story of big business perverting classical music....

Isn't it amazing what money continues to do to some people and more so, to business? This excellent historical and recent account of how classical music has wound up monetarily suffocating itself is the best read that I've encountered. I could never figure out, until I read this book, why some popular artists' CDs would still be $16 EIGHT YEARS after their release. That's because the CD label still hasn't recovered from paying that artist's ridiculous fee and consequently, redirects the recording industry's funds away from our country's orchestras and lesser known talent. One can see today what turmoil this has caused classical music and its starving artists. Read this book, for if you love classical music, it can be a guide to help people better manage classical music towards a more fiscally sound future and most important of all, stop the greed.

THE BEST BOOK TO DATE ON THE BUSINESS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC

If you've watched the two-decade evolution in pop music industry exposé books-going from general veiled accusations and using pseudonyms, to the hard- hitting journalistic romps that are being written today, naming names, dates, companies, and places-then you'll appreciate the HIT MEN of the classical world, Norman Lebrecht's WHO KILLED CLASSICAL MUSIC, which, while it may not name vulnerable artist names in all the damning anecdotal situations in which Lebrecht places them, does explore the life and business of classical music in an alert, candid, and yet affectionate way, naming companies, managers, artists, salaries, and even top-echelon concert fees. Readers who may follow classical record-business entrepreneurship will be glad to find that the great independent- label success stories of our era, such as Naxos and Hyperion, are very much a part of Lebrecht's consciousness and research. There are no clear-cut classes of heroes and villains here, just a general sense of regret and fatigue about the current state of business in the classical world. Ron Simpson, School of Music, Brigham Young University. Author of MASTERING THE MUSIC BUSINESS

This is a wonderful analysis of classical music today.

This book takes a unique look at the classical music world of today. Norman Lebrecht has combined historical evidence as well as researched evidence to declare the truth about the condition of classical music today. It is, as a modern historical account, quite stunning. And for one overly romantic about classical music today, this book dispels much of that kind of though. You learn about Pavarotti's greed, the sexualization of female stars, and down-right dirty underhanded agents. It's a must-read for all classical music lovers.