Orchestral works are the central pillars of classical music. In A Concise Guide to Orchestral Music, 1700 to the Present Day, David Fligg evaluates this great music, and explores why so many masterpieces continue to fascinate music lovers. As well as discussing individual composers, the book places orchestral music within a historical context, providing essential reading for music students, and enthusiasts of all ages.

Familiar to conductors, orchestra managers, and music librarians, this compact sourcebook provides information necessary to plan orchestral programs and organize rehearsals. The third edition features 4500 compositions that cover the standard repertoire for American orchestras (a 30% increase over the second edition), clearer entries, and a more useful system of appendixes.

Packed with photographs, composer biographies, analyses of major works, and essential information on every musical genre, style, form, instrument, and ensemble, DK's Complete Classical Music Guide is a portable encyclopedic guide to more than one thousand years of Western classical music. From Bach to Berlioz, Glinka to Gershwin, Stravinsky to Shostakovich, and everyone in between, the Complete Classical Music Guide contains more than three hundred composer profiles, and offers a clear definition of the particular styles and characteristics of seven key eras: Early Music (1000-1600); The Baroque Era (1600-1750); The Classical Era (1750-1820); The Romantic Era (1810-1920); Romantic Opera (1810-1920); National Schools (1830-1950); and Modern Music (1900-). The Complete Classical Music Guide also includes a timeline that charts the evolution of musical styles and forms, instruments, and provides explanations of the building blocks of music — melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, form, tempo, and dynamics. Previously published as Eyewitness Companion: Classical Music, this book has been reformatted and designed and now comes packaged in an exclusive presentation slipcase.

Covers the basics of Western classical tonal music theory, though it is applicable to a broad range of other music as well. The book covers basic notation of pitch and rhythm, major and minor keys, intervals, chords, harmony, and other concepts essential to a fundamental understanding of tonal music.

"Your guide to the orchestra through sounds and stories." front cover.

The most readable and comprehensive guide to enjoying over five hundred years of classical music -- from Gregorian chants, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, and beyond. The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is a lively -- and opinionated -- musical history and an insider's key to the personalities, epochs, and genres of the Western classical tradition. Among its features: -- chronologically arranged essays on nearly 100 composers, from Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) to Aaron Copland (1900-1990), that combine biography with detailed analyses of the major works while assessing their role in the social, cultural, and political climate of their times; -- informative sidebars that clarify broader topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movement; -- a glossary of musical terms, from a cappella to woodwinds; -- a step-by-step guide to building a great classical music library. Written with wit and a clarity that both musical experts and beginners can appreciate, The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is an invaluable source-book for music lovers everywhere.

This authoritative guide gives the non-musician the fundamentals of orchestral music. It begins with a general introduction to the symphony and various musical styles and then describes, chronologically, over seven hundred pieces--from Vivaldi to twentieth-century composers. Mordden also includes a glossary of musical terms and other useful aids for the music lover.