Best non-fiction music books

thorold: One of the best-ever musical autobiographies, whatever you think of Tippett as a composer

thorold: Everything you would hope for in a book about Bach by one of his leading modern interpreters

hipdeep: I know it's basically opinion/humor writing, but it's not fiction, and the question of "what makes a song bad" is both interesting and laugh-out-loud funny.

thorold: Not always the liveliest of writers, but no-one knew Schubert's songs better

thorold: Very interesting account of Mozart's working relationships with singers and how they influenced his operas.

thorold: Classic postmodern feminist challenge to traditional musicology. More readable than it sounds...

thorold: Of course it's more about Alma than about Gustav, but it's still fun

thorold: Nice anthology of writings about music by Great Composers

thorold: Readable biography that avoids the temptation to get over-excited about the causes of Schumann's illness

thorold: Very approachable short guide to the physics and engineering of producing and hearing musical sounds.