The Life and Death of Classical Music: Featuring the 100 Best and 20 Worst Recordings Ever Made
by Norman Lebrecht
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Description
In this compulsively readable, fascinating, and provocativenbsp;guide to classical music, Norman Lebrecht, one of the world’s most widely read cultural commentators tells the story of the rise of the classical recording industry from Caruso’s first notes to the heyday of Bernstein,nbsp;Glenn Gould, Callas,nbsp;and von Karajan. Lebrecht compellingly demonstrates that classical recording has reached its end point–but this is not simply an expos? of decline and fall. It is, for the first show more time, the full story of a minor art form, analyzing thenbsp;cultural revolution wrought by Schnabel, Toscanini, Callas, Rattle, the Three Tenors, and Charlotte Church. It is the story of how stars were made and broken by the record business; how a war criminal conspired withnbsp;a concentration-camp victim to create a record empire; and how advancing technology, boardroom wars, public credulity and unscrupulous exploitation shaped the musical backdrop to our modern lives. The book ends with a suitable shrine to classical recording: the author’s critical selection of the 100 most important recordings–and the 20 most appalling. Filled with memorable incidents and unforgettable personalities–from Goddard Lieberson, legendary head of CBS Masterworks who signed his letters as God; to Georg Solti, who turned the Chicago Symphony into “ the loudest symphony on earth”–this is at once the captivating story of the life and death of classical recording and an opinioned, insider’snbsp;guide to appreciating the genre, now and for years to come. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I usually find books like this are a bit...overwrought, shall we say. "Things were better back then; why, i my day, ." The Life and Death of Classical Music manages to avoid that. Walk over to the Classical section of most stores selling music, and what do you see? Il Divo, Bocelli, 8.99 recordings of the most well known pieces by Bach, etc. I like Bach as well as the next gal, but it would be nice to find NEW recordings of a wider range of music, not just cheap reissues of EMI, Decc or D.G.'s backlist. Aside from all that, The Life and Death of Classical Music offers a fascinating history, not just of classical recording, but recording in general as well as a look at the personalities which drove the last 100 of classical music. As for show more Lebrecht's list of the best 100 and worst 20 recording, I have some of both and will probably pick up a few off the first list...not so much the second. show less
This is both a sparkling and controversial text: the first print of the UK run had to be pulped in response to a complaint made by Mr Heyman of Naxos Records!
I think it's perverse for the author to speak of "the death" of classical music, or of the business of recording it.
I think it's perverse for the author to speak of "the death" of classical music, or of the business of recording it.
Witty history of the rise and fall of classical music, and how its fortunes were affected by the times, as well as the cast of personalities involved.
Worth reading for the 20 worst recordings!Lebrecht once more bites the hand that feeds him, giving much amusement to the reader
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Author Information
25 Works 1,555 Members
Norman Lebrecht is the author of nine books on music, including The Maestro Myth and The Companion to Twentieth-Century Music. He lives in London with his family. (Bowker Author Biography)
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2007
- Disambiguation notice
- Published as Maestros, Masterpieces and Madness: the secret life and shameful death of the classical record industry (2007) and as The Life and Death of Classical Music: featuring the 100 best and 20 worst recording... (show all)s ever made. (2007)
Classifications
- Genres
- Music, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, History
- DDC/MDS
- 780.266 — Arts & recreation Music Music Miscellany; texts; treatises on music scores and recordings Texts; treatises on music scores and recordings Sound recordings of music
- LCC
- ML3790 .L439 — Music Literature on music Literature on music Music trade
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 116
- Popularity
- 279,081
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.80)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 1
