Classical Music 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Classical Music

"About as thorough and detailed an introduction for the average beginner as I could imagine. It is also fascinating reading for seasoned listeners...An extraordinary survey."

"You'll never confuse an oboe with a bassoon again."

"A fine addition to the genre."

"[The] most useful, possibly the most important, book on classical music of recent years...Plotkin is reassuringly unstuffy and full of practical, stimulating ideas."

The author who has taught tens of thousands of people to love opera now introduces readers to the rich and soul-stirring world of classical music.

From the author of the bestselling Opera 101 comes a comprehensive and highly accessible guide to discovering the glories of classical music, based on the fundamental principle of developing the skills to truly listen. In clear and entertaining prose, Plotkin explores a thousand years of music, introducing listeners to more than one hundred great works and profiling in depth many significant composers, including Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Dvorák, and Mahler. Plotkin illustrates how each piece of music possesses its own sound world, which is created by the unique style, voice, and vision of each composer, and made even more distinct by every musician who plays it. He defines major musical terms, and makes music theory comprehensible for the uninitiated. Conversations with important musicians offer fascinating insights into the art.