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Summary: A definitive history of Western art music
Review: "A History of Western Music" is a standard reference text for the academic study of "classical" art music from antiquity to the present (i.e. 1960). As an example of this book's scholarly authority, the 5th edition is commonly the sole information source for many Master's of Music history qualifying exams. Author and Cornell professor emeritus Donald Grout writes with a straightforward style and elucidates his prose with many colorful pictures and musical examples. All those looking for a thorough, single volume survey of Western art music should make this book the first addition to their library.
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Summary: Great Reference!
Review: Before I say anything else, you should know that the everyday price for this 6th edition hardcover book is much less at your local bookstore (not at liberty to state where). Why on earth does Amazon charge so much!?I was delighted to hear that Palisca had released yet another edition of this fine reference on the history of Western art music. I present pre-concert lectures & talks for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival and other local orchestras and I find this reference to be a good starting point for refreshing my knowledge of the historical context behind a piece of music I've been asked to talk about. The writing gets clearer and easier to read with every new edition. I found the 6th edition a very easy read, engrossing and wonderfully thorough given the scope of what it sets out to achieve. Since I want this reference to assist me with historical context, I found that it does a terrific job up to the late 19th century, and is somewhat lacking from then on. The reference treats the late 19th and 20th century on a composer-by-composer basis and doesn't link the overall trends very well. For instance I couldn't find much on why Shostakovich and Prokovief composed as they did, whereas composers of the 18th and 19th centuries are placed in larger trends and movements rather easily. I understand that it takes time and dedicated scholars to reveal the many layers that make up an era and its art, so I am forgiving if still a little frustrated. I was impressed that Palisca set out to have each and every section & composer reviewed by scholars in their respective fields of expertise. For instance, I had read a recently published and excellent book that set out to challenge the generally accepted view on Haydn and his place in history as a composer of symphonies, and that author is referenced as a source for the section on Haydn in this 6th edition. Palisca's desire to be thorough and to reflect the lastest research and thought on composers and their eras makes this 6th edition an even more valuable resource for my personal library. I also found the revised glossary to be outstanding and incredibly helpful!
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Summary: The 6th edition still sets the standard !
Review: I remember the First edition of Grout's "A History of Western Music"--it was the main text in use when I was a first year undergraduate student. In fact it was one of the standard texts in use at a large number of colleges. The good news is that I was pleased to see the excellent changes. I didn't have to look far to find my first (1 st) edition Grout ( I've used it still until I purchased this new 6th edition several weeks ago)--there are 101 more pages of text. In reality there is much more to look at as the 1st edition book was only 6 x 9 inches. The new 6th Edition is larger: 7 1/4 by 10 1/2 inches. In addition, there is a highly attractive layout; the best feature? A wonderful highlighted-in-blue area (appearing every 40 pages or so) in which the composers themselves speak about a wonderful range of topics such as Francois Couperin 'On the Union of the Italian and French Styles' or, the great J.S. Bach's description of one the church service's he organized (known as an 'Order of Service') taken from a collection of his memoirs.
Lastly, I enjoyed seeing the addition of an overall "Time-Line of Events" which prefaces each unit. This includes not only items from music, but any historical event which remotely affected change in music or musical thought.
My singluar critical note is perhaps something which the authors had little time to devote to. The 6th edition ends with composers who, in this reviewer's opinion, were certainly not 'mainstream'--like John Cage (1912-1992) (who's infamous "4'33" is actually a period of four minutes and thirythree seconds in which the 'performer' remains totally silent). Cage was popular in the late 70s more for his extremism than anything else. The last paragraph of the book does state, in effect, that composers are being more sensitive to their audiences. (No doubt! Their INsensitivity nearly killed classical music in the 70s) As with any textbook, deadlines must limit speculation--there will undoubtedly be a 7th edition to address more changes in our musical world.
Lastly, the reader should take note that the current author of this work, Claude V. Palisca, is also the author of the "Norton Anthology of Music" which can be used in conjunction with this text. Also, the publisher, W.W.Norton and Co., has a website for readers (which is also mentioned in the text: http://www.wwnorton.com/grout.). The website is still active (I just visited it) and has a wealth of information and listening resources---too bad we didn't have this back in 1967 !
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Summary: This is the finest text on the history of western music.
Review: This book is Donald J. Grout's masterpiece. Scholarly, detailed, and carefully considered, it includes analyses of pieces from every period in the history of western music. Grout interweaves the development of harmony, rhythm, and usage with the evolution of various instruments and vocal trends, and presents all in the context of social and political history.
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Summary: The Place to Start
Review: This book is undoubtedly the place to begin any serious look into music history. It is an omnibus study of what is commonly referred to as Western Art Music. It discusses composers, styles, and trends within music history itself. It doesn't cover ethnomusicology more than necessary (although it does point out examples beyond the scope of the book that merit further study, such as jazz). As for tying music history to art history, world history, and philosophy (ie the "new" musicology), this book does a commendable, albeit conservative, job. There are discussions of how major historical trends shaped music (most notably the spread of Christianity) and plenty of color plates showing works of art contemporary to the pieces being discussed. What sets this book apart from other omnibus texts is its throughness. It starts at the very beginning of music history and remains strong to the present. Here is a page breakdown to illustrate my point: 1-32 - Ancient Greek and Roman Musical Thought (very few textbooks start before the Medieval period) 32-152 - Medieval Music 152-268 - Renaissance Music 268-439 - Baroque Period 439-533 - Classical Period 533-692 - Romantic Period 692-805 - Modern and Postmodern trends 805-822 - Glossary (very useful) As you can see, it treats all the phases of music history relatively equally, giving a better sense of how the big picture comes together. There is some excellent supplemental material which includes the basics of reading medieval and renaissance music notation. Donald Grout and Claude Palisca aren't so much boring in their writing style as they are serious. The book is concise and well-written. While it is by no means a page-turner (it's much too dense), it does have a good flow. At $65, this book is expensive, but it's well worth the extra money to get the best text available. I know this will be a reference resource in my library for years to come.
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