Product Details
A Student's Guide to Music History (Preston A. Wells Jr. Guide to the Major Disciplines)

A Student's Guide to Music History (Preston A. Wells Jr. Guide to the Major Disciplines)
By Mr. R. J. Stove

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Product Description

R. J. Stove’s A Student’s Guide to Music History is a concise account, written for the intelligent lay reader, of classical music’s development from the early Middle Ages onwards. Beginning with a discussion of Hildegard von Bingen, a twelfth-century German nun and composer, and the origins of plainchant, Stove’s narrative recounts the rise (and ever-increasing complexity) of harmony during the medieval world, the differences between secular and sacred music, the glories of the contrapuntal style, and the origins of opera. Stove then relates the achievements of the high baroque period, the very different idioms that prevailed during the late eighteenth century, and the emergence of Romanticism, with its emphasis upon the artist-hero. With the late nineteenth century came a growing emphasis on musical patriotism, writes Stove, especially in Spain, Hungary, Russia, Bohemia, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and the United States. A final section discusses the trends that have characterized music since 1945.
 
Stove’s guide also singles out eminent composers for special coverage, including Palestrina, Monteverdi, Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Verdi, Brahms, Debussy, Richard Strauss, Sibelius, and Messiaen. As a brief orientation to the history and countours of classical music, A Student’s Guide to Music History is an unparalleled resource.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #127401 in Books
  • Published on: 2008-01-15
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 90 pages

Features

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

R. J. Stove, born in 1961 in Sydney, is a professional organist and composer in Melbourne. His previous books are Prince of Music: Palestrina and His World and The Unsleeping Eye: Secret Police and Their Victims. He is a contributing editor at the American Conservative, and his articles have appeared in Modern Age, the New Criterion, Chronicles, National Review, the National Observer (Australia), and elsewhere. He has also broadcast on Sydney and Melbourne radio.

Customer Reviews

Any one with interest in the great strides of classical music over the centuries should look into5
Music is as old as humanity itself, and to some, just may be older than that. "A Student's Guide to Music History" covers from the early middle ages and onwards, focusing on classical music's development since then. Origins of the Plainchant, differences between secular and sacred music, and origins of opera are all covered, as are intriguing portraits of many famous composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss among others. Any one with interest in the great strides of classical music over the centuries should look into "A Student's Guide to Music History", which should be in every community library music collection.

clear and succinct 5
I've enjoyed this book so much, and give great credit to both the author and publisher. It is intelligent, charming, and incredibly informative given its size. I'm using it in a class with some young teens, and they have loved it -- even if it is a bit over their level.

simply marvellous5
Eurocentric it certainly is, but you will not read a more informative, judicious, concise, indeed subtly brilliant account of the masters of music than this. The publishing person who has slotted this into the 9-13 year-old age range needs to get into a different line of work. The young should certainly be encouraged to read it. But Stove weaves his most potent magic for grown-up minds. Stunning.