Awards

• Winner of A Choice Outstanding Academic Book of 2003.

Overview

The first volume to appear in the five-volume magnum opus of A. Peter Brown, this work sets a new standard for writing about the symphonies of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Now a single source provides up-to-date overviews of the status of research, former or present questions of attribution, discussion of stylistic traits, background material on the musical context of composition and early performances, as well as samplings from the early reception of works that we now call classics.

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9780253334879

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Reviews

<p> Though this massive tome may look quite formidable, it proves to be aremarkably smooth read for anyone who already knows much of the literature beingaddressed. Brown (Indiana Univ. School of Music) covers every symphony composed bythe four giants of the First Viennese School, and from a wide variety ofperspectives: historical context, structural architecture, nuances of orchestration, critical editions, public response, and reception. The result is a treasure trove ofinformation, scholarly and thorough without being pedantic or boring. The readermost likely to derive maximum pleasure from the book will come armed with scores, recordings, and (of course) prior experience with the works in question. Such areader will be delighted by the insights Brown provides. Though this is the secondvolume of a projected five-volume series on the history of the symphony, it is thefirst to appear in print. If the succeeding volumes are up to the level of this one, music lovers have a great treat in

Though this massive tome may look quite formidable, it proves to be a remarkably smooth read for anyone who already knows much of the literature being addressed. Brown (Indiana Univ. School of Music) covers every symphony composed by the four giants of the First Viennese School, and from a wide variety of perspectives: historical context, structural architecture, nuances of orchestration, critical editions, public response, and reception. The result is a treasure trove of information, scholarly and thorough without being pedantic or boring. The reader most likely to derive maximum pleasure from the book will come armed with scores, recordings, and (of course) prior experience with the works in question. Such a reader will be delighted by the insights Brown provides. Though this is the second volume of a projected five-volume series on the history of the symphony, it is the first to appear in print. If the succeeding volumes are up to the level of this one, music lovers have a great treat in store. Definitely not for beginners. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. -E. Schwartz, Bowdoin College, 2003apr CHOICE

<p> Though this massive tome may look quite formidable, it proves to be a remarkably smooth read for anyone who already knows much of the literature being addressed. Brown (Indiana Univ. School of Music) covers every symphony composed by the four giants of the First Viennese School, and from a wide variety of perspectives: historical context, structural architecture, nuances of orchestration, critical editions, public response, and reception. The result is a treasure trove of information, scholarly and thorough without being pedantic or boring. The reader most likely to derive maximum pleasure from the book will come armed with scores, recordings, and (of course) prior experience with the works in question. Such a reader will be delighted by the insights Brown provides. Though this is the second volume of a projected five-volume series on the history of the symphony, it is the first to appear in print. If the succeeding volumes are up to the level of this one, music lovers have a great treat in store. Definitely not for beginners. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --E. Schwartz, Bowdoin College, 2003apr CHOICE--E. Schwartz, Bowdoin College, 2003apr CHOICE

Author Information

A. Peter Brown is Professor of Musicology at Indiana University. He is the author of Joseph Haydn's Keyboard Music: Sources and Style, Performing Haydn's The Creation: Reconstructing the Earliest Renditions, and other books and articles on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music. He has also prepared editions of scores from this period.

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