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Rating: 
Summary: Musical criticism or theological tract?
Review: As a septuagenarian tired of fashionable cacophony for decades, I approached Mr. Reilly's book hoping to find leads to relatively unknown composers who, during this barren period, continued the tradition that music was basically about music: melody, not theoretical constructs.
Caveat emptor. Although only a third of the way through the book, I am writing now because it is beginnning to look like I will never get to the last page, although the book is really not all that long and has generous margins. If you are a Catholic fundamentalist, there is no reason for you to read an further comments from me, since you will probably find Reilly a congenial companion. If you are not, then a few words of warning to the potential buyer may be in order.
Simply stated, the author attributes much of the musical nonsense during the mid-20th century as resulting from a loss of Christian faith -- specifically, Catholic faith. He is entitled to his opinion, of course; but if you don't share it, then you might consider looking for suggestions elsewhere. I agree with the writer that non-musical "music" is simply noise; but I disagree that the way back is through Christian fundamentalism.
Reilly's general introduction ("Is Music Sacred"?) takes us from Pythagoras, Aristotle, Plato and "the music of the spheres", to Cicero, St. Clement of Alexandria, Boethius, Busoni, . . . and, of course, to the ultimate villain, Arnold Schoenberg. Then on to the composers.
John Adams get's five pages, devoted to one work : El Nino, "or, as it was called at its Paris premiere, La Nativite." [Sorry about the lack of tildes and accents over vowels.] In the course of the discussion, Adams is faulted for having drawn four items from the Gnostic gospels and Pseudo-Matthew. ". . .The texts are absurd. Why did Adams and Sellars feel compelled to use them? Perhaps for their poetic charm. However, it reveals that they approach gospel and pseudo-gospel alike at the level of enriching myth, a la Joseph Campbell (p. 30)." Hence my question: musical criticism or theological tract?
A bit later John Cage, "Apostle of Noise," gets bounced around. Personally, I am no fan of Cage, but I simply don't listen to his music or buy his records. Reilly takes us from Aristotle to Rousseau to St. Paul (Romans 1:20). Toward the end of his 7-page diatribe against Cage, Reilly remarks: "This does not mean that there is not a form of spirituality in Cage. There is, but it is spiritual nihilism. Some of it may derive from Cage's fascination with a form of Zen Buddhism: Cage's cure for egotism is not humility but the elimination of the ego," etc., etc. The same old jargon. No doubt he is also a "liberal" and "without moral values".
Reilly might reasonably have included a chapter or more on the newly-revived Early Music, which is even less familiar to modern ears than the serialists: Palestrina (c. 1525-1594), the "Officium Defunctorum" and "Missa pro Defunctis" (Astree E8765) by Cristobal de Morales (ca. 1500-1553), the Portuguese Requiem Masses of Lobo and Cardoso (Naxos 8.550682), or the disk of four concertos by the contemporary (Catholic), Hendrik Andreissen (1892-1981) (NM Classics 92066). Wonderful stuff! (Suggestions from a Buddhist music lover who believes neither in "spiritual nihilism" nor in Christian "humility.")
Rating: 
Summary: ¿An authentic musical enrichment¿
Review: Being a neophyte in modern classical music I'm very much in need of a guiding hand and Reilly's book has been the most helpful yet in boosting my appreciation of music and Beauty, for that matter. His writings not only assure the validity of my fears or 'sense of barbarian for not understanding the meaning of the sounds' I have been listening to, but endow a refreshing and profound understanding of how modern music can be free from its praise of entanglement. It has been a delightful and moving experience to read Reilly's unique and exquisite way of illustrating modern composer's journeys into their pledge for Beauty. He brings you close to their emotions and struggles in a timely historic ambiance so as to appreciate even more their daring willingness to come up with beautiful music! No doubt his has been 'a labor of love for music'- one can actually hear the resonance of the Spirit of Music without having started on his recommendations!"Surprised by Beauty" was definitely a wonderful Christmas present and I highly recommend his reading!
Rating:
Summary: "An authentic musical enrichment"
Review: Being a neophyte in modern classical music I'm very much in need of a guiding hand and Reilly's book has been the most helpful yet to boost up my appreciation of music and Beauty for that matter. His writings not only assure the validity of my fears or `sense of barbarian for not understanding the meaning of the sounds' I have been listening to, but endow a refreshing and profound understanding of how modern music can be free from its praise of entanglement. It has been a delightful and moving experience to read Reilly's so unique and exquisite way of illustrating modern composer's journeys into their pledge for Beauty. He brings you close enough and candidly to their emotions and struggles in a timely historic ambiance as to appreciate even more their daring willingness to come up with beautiful music! No doubt his has been `a labor of love for music'- one can actually hear the resonance of the Spirit of Music without having started on his recommendations!"Surprised by Beauty" was definitely a wonderful Christmas present and I highly recommend his reading!
Rating:
Summary: What a beautiful surprise!
Review: I just got this book as a present and hadn't planned to read it before the busy holidays - but I couldn't put it away after peeking into it.
This is more than a guide to modern music; this amazing book is a guide to its soul. It opens your mind as well as your heart to the beauty of modern music. Nobody has ever looked at modern music this way; it is revelatory and stunning. Reilly clearly knows what he's talking about and he knows how to tell these wonderful stories. I can't wait to actually listen to his suggestions. This is the perfect gift not only for people who are specifically interested in modern music; it will delight anybody who loves music in general.
"Surprised by Beauty" is a unique guide to modern music - it's a beautiful surprise!
Rating:
Summary: Fills a niche
Review: I should say right off that I am deliberately taking my time to read this book & haven't read every chapter yet. I know of nothing quite like it, though. A feature I want, at this point, particularly to commend is the way the author has (1) of conveying his delight in, and the meaningfulness of, the music as he has experienced it, while (2) somehow saying enough that this reader, at least, can distinguish between the sure bets and the iffy ones from the reader's own point of view. Thus I credit Reilly (and the wonderful Samuel Palmer cover art) for putting me on to the Chandos recordings of the symphonies of Edmund Rubbra -- once I bought and listened to a CD of his symphonies 4, 10, & 11, I knew I would want more. One of Reilly's fine columns in Crisis Magazine put me on to Joly Braga Santos -- sure enough, I enjoyed the work (Symphony #4) praised there, as well. The Naxos CD of Douglas Lilburn's symphonies is another example. On the other hand, while Reilly likes Martinu and Nielsen, what he says about these composers conveys important things about their work such that someone like me who is not enchanted would have sufficient warning that this is someone to hear first before buying. I hope that in a few years there can be a sequel to this book. In the meantime, I'm glad to have a copy of Surprised by Beauty and to be able to read Mr. Reilly's columns in Crisis.
Rating:
Summary: Fills a niche
Review: I should say right off that I am deliberately taking my time to read this book & haven't read every chapter yet. I know of nothing quite like it, though. A feature I want, at this point, particularly to commend is the way the author has (1) of conveying his delight in, and the meaningfulness of, the music as he has experienced it, while (2) somehow saying enough that this reader, at least, can distinguish between the sure bets and the iffy ones from the reader's own point of view. Thus I credit Reilly (and the wonderful Samuel Palmer cover art) for putting me on to the Chandos recordings of the symphonies of Edmund Rubbra -- once I bought and listened to a CD of his symphonies 4, 10, & 11, I knew I would want more. One of Reilly's fine columns in Crisis Magazine put me on to Joly Braga Santos -- sure enough, I enjoyed the work (Symphony #4) praised there, as well. The Naxos CD of Douglas Lilburn's symphonies is another example. On the other hand, while Reilly likes Martinu and Nielsen, what he says about these composers conveys important things about their work such that someone like me who is not enchanted would have sufficient warning that this is someone to hear first before buying. I hope that in a few years there can be a sequel to this book. In the meantime, I'm glad to have a copy of Surprised by Beauty and to be able to read Mr. Reilly's columns in Crisis.
Rating: 
Summary: Find God in Music (just not in the pantonal kind)
Review: Robert Reilly's "Surprised by Beauty - A Listener's Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music" has been with me since it's publication. It is one of the most heavily book-marked, annotated books I have - and much cherished. This book is perhaps not perfect and it is probably not first-order-brilliant either, but it is beautiful! I treasure it as much as I treasure much of the music that I have since enjoyed because of this book. Surprised by Beauty is highly spiritual. Stephen Hough, the wonderful pianist who records for hyperion (interviewed in the book), says on the jacket cover: "Robert Reilly has the unusual and delightful ability to infect the reader with insatiable curiosity about the composers he champions. Names that often were unknown, and sometimes unpronounceable, suddenly seem totally fascinating and worthy of discovery at the earliest opportunity. Yet beyond this level of exploration is his personal vision of music as something profoundly spiritual, expressive of what is best and most enriching in human life and having the possibility of leading us to encounter God Himself." That is a good introduction to Surprised by Beauty. The opening quote of the book is from Max Picard: "[In] sound intself, there is a readiness to be ordered by the spirit, and this is seen at its most sublime in music." The love for music never ceases to impress - and as knowledgeable a man as Mr. Reilly is always a pleasure to have along for instruction. Before I delve at some length into examples I (dis)agree with in this book, let me summarize:
If you want loving introductions to the music of John Adams, ("The Search for a Larger Harmony")
George Antheil ("Bad Boy Made Good"),
Malcolm Arnold, ("English Enigma")
Gerald Finzi, ("Inmitations of Immortality")
Stephen Gerber, ("Keeping America Real")
Morton Gould ("Maestro of Americana"),
Roy Harris, ("Singing to America")
Vagn Holmboe, ("The Music of Metaphysics")
László Lajtha, ("Music from a Secret Room")
Gian Francesco Malipiero, ("Beyond Italian Opera")
Frank Martin, ("Guide to the Liturgical Year")
William Mathias, ("Musical Incantations")
Carl Nielsen ("Music is Life"),
Einojuhani Rautavaara, ("New Northern Light")
Albert Roussel, ("The Freedom of Personal Vision")
Edmund Rubbra, ("On the Road to Emmaus")
Harald Saeverud, ("A Norwegian Original")
Aulis Sallinen ("Scandinavian Consolation"),
Peter Schickele, ("Schickele Unmixed")
Franz Schmidt, ("Setting the Apocalypse")
Alexander Tcherepnin ("From Russia With Love"),
Eduard Tubin, ("In From the Cold")
Geirr Tveitt, ("The Music in the Waterfall")
Mieczyslaw Vainberg, ("Light in the Dark")
Peteris Vasks ("Another New Northern Light") as well as Duruflé, Elgar, Janáèek, Martinù, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Vaughn-Williams and Villa-Lobos - you have picked up the right book. These are the composers dealt with in little chapters, ordered alphabetically and cobbled together from reviews and pieces written in different magazines. Nonetheless, there is a coherent line through the work - cumulating in a few interviews with composers such as Robert Craft, David Diamond, Gian Carlo Menotti, Einojuhani Rautavaara, George Rochberg and Carl Rütti. Just for John Cage, Mr. Reilly has no kind words ("Apostle of Noise"). And the specter haunting some chapters, not to be rescued until Robert Craft takes up his cause, is Arnold Schoenberg. In fact, Schoenberg so rubs Mr. Reilly the wrong way that he elicits the books strongest (and perhaps most contentious) statement from Robert Reilly: Ugliness is the aesthetic analogue to evil. To say it right away: A lover of modern music - and with a much higher tolerance for the unnecessarily absurd (Concerto for two cheese-graders, jet engine, electric toothbrush and chromatic garbage disposal? Bring it on!) - I have grid (grinded) my teeth many a time. A more conservative reader than me would find himself nodding along throughout the book. Either way, it is a veritable treasure-trove. After every chapter, there is a little section discussing the merit of important works of that composer in different editions. This is immensely helpful in choosing where to start the musical discovery-tour. Telling of the nonchalance with which he treats the breadth of his appreciation of modern music is the following quote: "Anyone who enjoys Britten's music of this kind should likewise appreciate Mathias's". I imagine the greater part of his initial readership to wince even at the very idea of Britten, assuming that they know him or his work. His passion for Janáèek's String Quartets is so palpable that not having them (I had them when I read it) must seem half a crime. His championing of Saeverrud (my initial reaction, too, was: Who???) is passionate and sophisticated. A book, in short, that will get much and repeated bedside reading and the occasional study - a charming companion through 20th century classical music with amiably strong - if not always agreeable - opinions. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Find God in Music (just not in the pantonal kind)
Review: Robert Reilly's "Surprised by Beauty - A Listener's Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music" has been with me since it's publication. It is one of the most heavily book-marked, annotated books I have - and much cherished. This book is perhaps not perfect and it is probably not first-order-brilliant either, but it is beautiful! I treasure it as much as I treasure much of the music that I have since enjoyed because of this book. Surprised by Beauty is highly spiritual. Stephen Hough, the wonderful pianist who records for hyperion (interviewed in the book), says on the jacket cover: "Robert Reilly has the unusual and delightful ability to infect the reader with insatiable curiosity about the composers he champions. Names that often were unknown, and sometimes unpronounceable, suddenly seem totally fascinating and worthy of discovery at the earliest opportunity. Yet beyond this level of exploration is his personal vision of music as something profoundly spiritual, expressive of what is best and most enriching in human life and having the possibility of leading us to encounter God Himself." That is a good introduction to Surprised by Beauty. The opening quote of the book is from Max Picard: "[In] sound intself, there is a readiness to be ordered by the spirit, and this is seen at its most sublime in music." The love for music never ceases to impress - and as knowledgeable a man as Mr. Reilly is always a pleasure to have along for instruction. Before I delve at some length into examples I (dis)agree with in this book, let me summarize:
If you want loving introductions to the music of John Adams, ("The Search for a Larger Harmony")
George Antheil ("Bad Boy Made Good"),
Malcolm Arnold, ("English Enigma")
Gerald Finzi, ("Inmitations of Immortality")
Stephen Gerber, ("Keeping America Real")
Morton Gould ("Maestro of Americana"),
Roy Harris, ("Singing to America")
Vagn Holmboe, ("The Music of Metaphysics")
László Lajtha, ("Music from a Secret Room")
Gian Francesco Malipiero, ("Beyond Italian Opera")
Frank Martin, ("Guide to the Liturgical Year")
William Mathias, ("Musical Incantations")
Carl Nielsen ("Music is Life"),
Einojuhani Rautavaara, ("New Northern Light")
Albert Roussel, ("The Freedom of Personal Vision")
Edmund Rubbra, ("On the Road to Emmaus")
Harald Saeverud, ("A Norwegian Original")
Aulis Sallinen ("Scandinavian Consolation"),
Peter Schickele, ("Schickele Unmixed")
Franz Schmidt, ("Setting the Apocalypse")
Alexander Tcherepnin ("From Russia With Love"),
Eduard Tubin, ("In From the Cold")
Geirr Tveitt, ("The Music in the Waterfall")
Mieczyslaw Vainberg, ("Light in the Dark")
Peteris Vasks ("Another New Northern Light") as well as Duruflé, Elgar, Janáèek, Martinù, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Vaughn-Williams and Villa-Lobos - you have picked up the right book. These are the composers dealt with in little chapters, ordered alphabetically and cobbled together from reviews and pieces written in different magazines. Nonetheless, there is a coherent line through the work - cumulating in a few interviews with composers such as Robert Craft, David Diamond, Gian Carlo Menotti, Einojuhani Rautavaara, George Rochberg and Carl Rütti. Just for John Cage, Mr. Reilly has no kind words ("Apostle of Noise"). And the specter haunting some chapters, not to be rescued until Robert Craft takes up his cause, is Arnold Schoenberg. In fact, Schoenberg so rubs Mr. Reilly the wrong way that he elicits the books strongest (and perhaps most contentious) statement from Robert Reilly: Ugliness is the aesthetic analogue to evil. To say it right away: A lover of modern music - and with a much higher tolerance for the unnecessarily absurd (Concerto for two cheese-graders, jet engine, electric toothbrush and chromatic garbage disposal? Bring it on!) - I have grid (grinded) my teeth many a time. A more conservative reader than me would find himself nodding along throughout the book. Either way, it is a veritable treasure-trove. After every chapter, there is a little section discussing the merit of important works of that composer in different editions. This is immensely helpful in choosing where to start the musical discovery-tour. Telling of the nonchalance with which he treats the breadth of his appreciation of modern music is the following quote: "Anyone who enjoys Britten's music of this kind should likewise appreciate Mathias's". I imagine the greater part of his initial readership to wince even at the very idea of Britten, assuming that they know him or his work. His passion for Janáèek's String Quartets is so palpable that not having them (I had them when I read it) must seem half a crime. His championing of Saeverrud (my initial reaction, too, was: Who???) is passionate and sophisticated. A book, in short, that will get much and repeated bedside reading and the occasional study - a charming companion through 20th century classical music with amiably strong - if not always agreeable - opinions. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: This book is simply stunning! How can a book of music criticism be so uplifting and even joyous? Because Bob Reilly not only writes elegant, nay, beautiful, prose, but he is writing about nothing less important than the salvation of modern music (after the spending most of the 20th century in atonal Hell) and the coming a whole new cadre of classical composers who write - get this! - beautiful music.
This is music that comes from the heart, not the head, and Reilly has done an extraordinary job getting some of the greatest composers of our day to open up their hearts and talk about music and what it means to them - especially what it means to their spiritual lives - in a way that I've almost never encountered before. His interviews and articles read like so many parables of the Fall into cacophony and the final redemption in harmony, melody and meaning. To listen to Robert Craft - one of the greatest musical figures of our day - dismiss Schoenberg as unlistenable, even ridiculous, is beautiful music to my ears, at least.
For everyone who loves music, but has been reluctant to enter the concert hall for fear of being assaulted by some new aural monstrosity, buy this book! Reilly - who's writings are full of specific recommendations on what to buy and what not -- will open up a whole new beautiful world for you. The musical cognoscenti are stuck in the past - Reilly has discovered the music of the future, and boy does it sound good!
Rating:
Summary: A great book! I wish there were more of its kind..
Review: Those of us who have the fortune of living in our current musical climate have the benefit of hindsight concerning a great many things. If we look at the last 75-80 years we see the advent and reign of the reactionary (rather than evolutionary) dodecaphonic school in all its pedantic and intolerant glory- traits often ostentatiously shunned by self-styled progressives. Then we see the collapse of its dominance, followed by reactions to the reaction: the adoption of simplistic methods such as aleatoric processes and minimalism. Robert Reilly treats this course in history not as a glorious long line of musical evolution, but as an interruption to true musical progress. I don't know that I would completely adopt his line of thinking here, but there is truth in what he says. We seem to be right back where we started at the beginning of the 20th century. Composers write Romantic music now even as they did then...and the 12 tone system never seemed to have caught on with more than a devout minority of enthusiasts, some of whom will even readily admit the system's appeal as largely cerebral.
More valuable in Reilly's book than the larger argument is his advocation of a group of composers who have at some point or another fallen on hard times in terms of legitimacy and recognition in the eyes of the musical scene at large. Reilly's succinct and informative snapshots of these composers, as well as his down-to-earth style, is crucial for the rehabilitation of these men, many of whose music I personally respect, love, and find vastly underrated. (For example, I recently discovered the music of Geirr Tveitt...WONDERFUL stuff, but who knows it?) It is true that Reilly's list is limited- there could be scores more names added....but his treatment of the names he does include should promote some interest in these men and help to generate the respect they deserve.
Now if about 20 more Reilly's would write books like these perhaps we may recover a good deal of great music that has fallen victim to circumstance and neglect due in large part to the tonality wars that have distracted musical activity for almost a century.
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