The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven

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The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven is a revised and enlarged version of Charles Rosen's landmark 1970 work on the compositions of the trio of musical geniuses who formed the Viennese Classical School and forever changed the face of music. Along with clarifications, expansions, and new insights into the composers and their music, the book has been enriched by the addition of a compact disc containing two of the Beethoven piano sonatas of which the author writes. Rosen's books are always shot through with musical examples, so you'll get a great deal more out of this one if you can read music. The Classical Style is a brilliant book, composed by a genuine artist, sometimes provocative, but never sloppy in its thinking.

Book Description

A greatly expanded edition of the National Book Award-winning masterpiece by a world-class pianist and writer on music. This outstanding book treating the three most beloved composers of the Vienna School is basic to any study of Classical-era music. Drawing on his rich experience and intimate familiarity with the works of these giants, Charles Rosen presents his keen insights in clear and persuasive language. For this expanded edition, now available in paperback for the first time, Rosen has provided a new, 64-page chapter on the later years of Beethoven and the musical conventions he inherited from Haydn and Mozart. The author has also written an extensive new preface in which he responds to other writers who have commented on his ideas.

Customer Reviews:

Notice the rising smoke screens whenever truth is trying to escape obscurity.......2007-09-24

This is an important and in many ways excellent book by Charles Rosen, who has also written other fine books. Rosen explains how the 18th-century sonata form was a logical extension and elaboration of what had come before and of what was inherent in traditional tonality. He shows that Romanticism wasn't a further development of the same principle, but rather a gradual dissolution. Rosen gives a scientific explanation of how traditional tonality itself is natural, grounded in physics. The implications of all this are clear enough. It's no accident that Beethoven was generally thought of as the greatest of all composers, until relatively recently (now it's not acceptable to think that anybody was greater than anybody else).

The anonymous reviewer from July 3, 1999 talks about sloppy thinking, while himself indulging in straw men, ad hominem, and plain deception. The reviewer gives a single quoted example of Rosen's allegedly sweeping statements, and this quote is of course taken out of context and isn't even Rosen's. It's Rosen quoting someone else in a context in which the quotation seems quite appropriate. The rest of this reviewer's statements are similar smoke and no substance. Please, do yourself a favor and read The Classical Style, and make your own conclusions. It's politically incorrect enough to inspire devious reviews and to be enlightening even to many professionals (if they have an open mind). It's not dumbed down, but it's written in an understandable language--something many other academicians might want to emulate. But if you are a "Liberal Warrior" or some other mind-already-made-up duffer, don't bother with this book or any other intelligent book: read Harry Potter and other children's fantasy instead, because that way you can escape reality while remaining rather harmless.

Utility in interpretation.......2005-09-04

This analysis is most valuable in describing/explaining/analysing classical style in a way that assists actual performance of the piano music of that style. Excellent comments are interspersed throughout it.

A good introduction into the evolution of the classical styl.......2005-01-13

The author does an impressive job of showing how the classical style of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven evolved from the musical chaos following the high baroque period. Perhaps giving too little credit to transitional composers who blazed the trail for these three geniuses, Rosen intersperses analysis with superlatives that at times is useful but at other times seems more like hero worship.

I found some parts particularly fascinating, such as the comparison between a work by Haydn and C.P.E. Bach. Certainly when the analysis was complete, you could see why Haydn's art was more rational and complete, however Rosen's dismissal of C.P.E. Bach's work as incoherent was somewhat off base in my opinion because the styles and goals of the two composers were not synonymous.

Though I didn't always agree with the author's conclusions, this book is still the best out there that I have read on the subject and is well worth reading.

Classic writing about Classical music.......2003-12-11

Charles Rosen by now has attained a place among musical analysts on a par with the likes of Tovey and Grout, though his style is very different from either of these luminaries. Taking the music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as the pinnacle of the musical style that developed in the late eighteenth-century, Rosen explains how around 1775 there was a decisive shift away from the High Baroque style of Bach and Handel, and why this new music was different. After his general introduction to the style most of the book explores different genres, symphony, opera, concerto and string quartet among them, to create a lucid and multi-faceted picture of how these three great composers approached and solved common musical and formal problems. The new edition adds a preface that addresses criticisms of the original book and an additional late chapter on Beethoven.

Rosen's writing, though it can be dense and repetitive, at its best is unmatched in its ability to relate analysis to what actually is heard by a listener. To this end, an ability to read and understand the copious and detailed musical examples is essential to fully grasping his points--this book is not for the casual amateur. But to those willing to do the work, The Classical Style remains as richly rewarding after three-plus decades as when it first appeared. As another reviewer has mentioned, it is a book one returns to again and again simply for the sheer pleasure of reading it.

If this is a three star book what's a five star book?.......2002-12-21

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book on a noble subject. On the basis of that rarity alone it deserves five stars.

The Symphonic Repertoire: Volume 2. The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert

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The Symphonic Repertoire: Volume 2. The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert
A. Peter Brown
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 025333487X

Book Description

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.

Classical Music: The Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (Norton Introduction to Music History)

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Just a little drier than the other Norton books
the driest book ever......
An excellent source

Classical Music: The Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (Norton Introduction to Music History)
Philip G. Downs
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 039395191X

Customer Reviews:

Just a little drier than the other Norton books.......2004-11-16

Downs' book comes from the Norton Introduction to Music History Series. I've read the others (excluding Hill's book on Baroque Music not yet released), and while it's good, it's unfortunately the weakest of the lot.

The book is geared for graduate study in music, and is a little too heady for beginners (by the way, the book's title refers only to Western music in the Classic Period, c.1760-1830).

Downs takes a chronological approach to the subject, but begins with a boring introduction on Eighteenth-century philosophy and musical aesthetics. This really is a shame, because the rest of the book (if you make it through) happens to be much better.

Downs covers the early emergence of Classic music out of the Baroque, and then follows with two short chapters on the first halves of Haydn and Mozart, respectively. After another interlude on music and other aspects during the Classic Period, Downs resumes with Haydn, Mozart, adds some Beethoven, and then leads the transition into the nineteenth century.

Despite the boring beginning, Downs' writing style is still very rigorous and scholarly. He makes many references to the book's sister, the Norton Anthology of Classical Music, and provides the most in-depth analyses of the entire Norton Series.

I feel bad giving the book three stars, but the other books by Atlas, Plantinga, Morgan and Hoppin are all better. Reinhard Pauly's book is also out there, but it's shorter and I haven't read it. Norton also published Charles Rosen's book Classical Style in 1999, which may be in response to this volume.

I must say, however, that on information alone, this book is very good and can be a great reference.

the driest book ever.............2003-09-16

I have been assigned this book for a class in my Master's program in performance. This is quite possibly the driest book I've ever had the pain of reading. I will admit, there is a LOT of information here, but it is presented in the most boring way possible. I'd rather read an outline. I have NEVER sold back a textbook in my entire academic career, but this one will be going back, if I dont burn it.

If you are a professor, please, have mercy. Dont assign this book. I've had to read 400 pages of it and I already want to tear out my eyes.

An excellent source.......2000-06-26

This book is excellent for both students and teachers who are studying the Classic Era of music history. This source goes along well with other Norton pulications such as the Romantic Era and the Norton Publication that spans from Ancient music to the Baroque. I have all of these sources and it has enriched my knowledge in the area of music history a great deal!

Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven

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Well worth your time
An outline of classical form

Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven
William E. Caplin
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 019514399X

Book Description

Building on ideas first advanced by Arnold Schoenberg and later developed by Erwin Ratz, this book introduces a new theory of form for instrumental music in the classical style. The theory provides a broad set of principles and a comprehensive methodology for the analysis of classical form, from individual ideas, phrases, and themes to the large-scale organization of complete movements. It emphasizes the notion of formal function, that is, the specific role a given formal unit plays in the structural organization of a classical work.

Customer Reviews:

Well worth your time.......2006-08-27

Caplin's book is, on the whole, an excellent revival of the Formlehre (study of form) tradition. His methodology of examining "formal functions" (i.e. how a particular musical module functions in the context of a full piece, rather than just labelling it) is incredibly revealing, and therefore his explanations of the various classical theme types (period, sentence, and small ternary) are likely the best you'll see in any study. The one caveat that I should express about this book is its reliance on the Riemannian and Schoenbergian traditions of harmonic theory: that's not necessarily a drawback, but to Americans who are used to the Schenkerian and roman numeral traditions of harmonic theory it can take a little getting used to (well worth the effort though).

An outline of classical form.......2003-12-08

This book is an in-depth outline of the four major forms of the classical era: Sonata, Rondo, Minuet/trio, and concerto. Before it covers them, however, covers the parts that make them, i.e. subordinate theme. Each of these small parts takes up about thirty pages, where the author covers tonal regions, structure, dynamics, etc. This book is a must for the music theory student/professional, or the composer.

Album of Easy String Quartets: Pieces by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Others (Kalmus Edition)

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Album of Easy String Quartets: Pieces by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Others (Kalmus Edition)

Manufacturer: Alfred Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0769249868

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Classical Music Library: The Masters

Manufacturer: Topics Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1591505992

The Classical Style. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.

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The Classical Style. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.
Charles. ROSEN
Manufacturer: Faber, 1971. 1st ed.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JNHZFG

Essays On The Viennese Classical Style. Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.

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Essays On The Viennese Classical Style. Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.
H.C. Robbins Landon
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UUKKS2

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Essays on the Viennese Classical Style: Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
H.C. Robbins Landon
Manufacturer: MACMILLAN COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OL8G3I

Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven: Studies in the Music of the Classical Period. Essays in Honour of Alan Tyson

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Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven: Studies in the Music of the Classical Period. Essays in Honour of Alan Tyson

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198163622

Book Description

Alan Tyson is Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is a leading authority on composers and music of the Classical period, especially Mozart and Beethoven. He has made a greater contribution to the dating of sketches and compositions than any other scholar. His international reputation stems from his outstanding contribution to the dating and cataloguing of these composers' sketches, manuscript compositions, and early printed editions. This collection of 19 essays in his honour comprises scholarly contributions from an international group of distinguished musicologists under the editorship of Sieghard Brandenburg. The book also includes a complete checklist of Alan Tyson's writings on music.

Customer Reviews:

Never boring. This is no piece of french cheesecloth!.......1997-09-16

Good book for the bathroom. Mostly short rants and odd stories. They will stick in your memory.

Book Description

Once upon a time (well, maybe it was last year) in the land of Oz (a place that looks a lot like Beverly Hills, California), reigning Prince of Darkness and heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, his wife and sovereign ruler, Sharon, and teenage heirs to the throne, Jack and Kelly, gave MTV camera crews the keys to the kingdom for documenting the Osbourne way of life.

The result? The Osbournes. The history-making, Emmy-winning, media-frenzied, television-family-concept-redefining reality series that America can't get enough of. The Osbournes are all can't-even-walk-down-the-street-anymore-to-grab-a-bite-to-eat famous.

But hey, you knew all that already -- so here's the part of the story that may have gone over your head. What you've got in your hands goes beyond you tuning in to The Osbournes on MTV. Think of it as ordering the Ozzy Super Deluxe -- the fully authorized, officially sanctioned, Sharon's Seal of Approval companion guide to all things Osbourne.

It's all here: complete synopses to all ten unforgettable episodes (featuring a Bad Word Box Score), exclusive interviews, hundreds of photos, a private tour of the house, what pet's in the doghouse, an Osbourne lexicon, and so much more. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish they lived next door to you (unless you've got the music cranked at 4:00 A.M.). So spend a little time in the land of Oz -- and discover why there really is no #$&*ing place like home.

Customer Reviews:

The wizards of Os(bourne).......2003-05-28

The Osbournes have gained fame not just for pioneering the reality TV show (and succeeding in it the way pretty much nobody else has), but for letting the masses in on their family life. It's weird, it's wacky, and when you pare it down it's pretty close to anyone else's family life. And that includes dogs peeing on the furniture, music, thongs, the arrogance of big sisters, getting tattoos, and much more.

"Officially Osbourne" is an episode guide (first season) interspersed with biographies, interviews, and information. Each of the bios includes favorite music, birth date, video games, personal philosophies, what their family members say about them, and then an interview. Each episode has a basic summary (about two or three paragraphs) and a slew of pictures. Also there are best lines ("Bubbles? Oh come on, Sharon! I'm the Prince of #$&*in' Darkness!"), and highlights (a fire in the kitchen -- "the first one in the new house").

There are chapters on other topics too: On Melinda Verga, a lower-key employee, on home decor (black, antiques, and crucifixes), the different rooms in the house, and on the pets (dogs and cats, most memorably Lola). One chapter is devoted to Ozzy and Sharon's parenting methods, and what their kids think of those methods. And most tantalizing of all is the chapter where they talk about what never made it onto your TV screen...

This book captures some of the spirit that infuses the Osbourne TV show. The coverage and interviews with Ozzy, smart wife Sharon and kids Jack and Kelly (Aimee declined to be in the show). Their attitudes are refreshingly honest and open -- in a celebrity subculture where people say prescripted, inoffensive lines, the Osbournes will tell the world what they do and don't like (Kelly hates pop singers, for example).

The pages are likably colorful, not just black text on white paper. The pictures are a slightly more mixed bag -- there are a lot of them on almost every page in the book, of everyone: The house, the furnishings, the dogs... unfortunately, many are too small to look at easily, and some are blurred. Many are quite good, clear and well-lit.

"We're not the #$&*ing Partridge Family" -- Sharon said it best. And "Officially Osbourne" takes some of the best elements from the TV show and commits them to paper. Definitely recommended for people who watch the show.

Excellent guide to the Osbournes.......2003-03-28

Officially Osbourne is an excellent guide to the Osbournes. It shares details of the episodes, profiles of the family members, untold stories, interviews, parents' advice from Sharon and Ozzy, and more. The pictures in this book are mostly animated, and while regular photos would have been great, it does add a more fun approach to the book. This is a must have for fans. You'll learn so much more about the Osbournes.

Great book!!.......2002-12-11

For any Osbourne fan, this is the book to get. It has every detail you ever wanted to know about the show. Great pictures and interviews, as well as info you didn't know!

Book Description

You're impressed with Adobe CS2 and love Adobe Bridge, its new navigational control center. But are you making the most out of it? Adobe Bridge is more than a simple file browser. It's a powerful desktop tool and provides centralized access to all your suite project files, applications, and settings. With file organization and sharing, plus Adobe Stock Photos at your fingertips all the time, Adobe Bridge speeds your workflow and keeps your ideas moving. In this first book to cover Adobe Bridge, best-selling author Terry White shows how to fully utilize this cool, productivity-enhancing software. You'll master organizing your files using the Bridge while customizing views and your workspace. You'll also learn how to view files (PDFs, multi-page InDesign files, Photoshop images, and more) in Adobe Bridge and directly see fonts and swatches used without actually opening a file as well as how to create collections of files, send files out for email review, track projects, effectively use Version Cue, set up RSS feeds, purchase stock photos, and more!

Customer Reviews:

This should have come with the software.......2007-01-09

There isn't any detailed information in this book, it's just an extended pamplet that should have shipped with the product. I didn't learn anything more from this than just sitting down with the program for an evening and poking around the menus. Powerful program: yes, hard to learn: no. I doubt I will use this as much of a reference book either. I have worked with Adobe products for many years, not as a job but as a hobby, and feel that anyone who knows Adobe products at all can understand this program by just diving into it without a book.

Time Saver Extrodinaire.......2006-07-26

The Bridge program gives us an incredible new tool for organizing and processing large groups of image files. This great LITTLE book is an outstanding resource to get you up and running with Bridge to take advantage of its power in as little time as possible.

A Bridge You Need to Cross.......2006-01-24

Terry White's newest book has the Bridge you need to cross to use all of the Adobe Creative Suite products productively. In only 100 pages Terry shows us Bridge so it is a production tool all by itself. You learn enough to be able to seamlessly go from Adobe app to Adobe app. But wait, there's even more. You are taught to create Adobe Bridge Scripts that integrate with all of the Adobe products. You can create a Photoshop script without even opening up Photshop! You also are directed to a site at Adobe.com where you can download new scripts even from third parties. Want to export an Illustrator file as a flash script? Page 61 tells you about the two options you have. Create an InDesign Script that does not create pixels as Photoshop does when you create a slide show. Wow! Try that, anyone. Use the Bridge to batch process your Raw files faster than Photoshop. Why? Bridge does not perform anything such as needing you to convert to 8 bit to view as you do if you make a common mistake. Batch processing is much, much easier in Bridge.
The section on the slideshow is worth the price alone. It will help you create award wining and profitable slideshows for images. Additionally, you can mix vector and bit-mapped images and you do not waste time by converting each to the other. Terry tells you how with this gem of book in less than 100 pages and at at a cost that is astounding for what you get. You may have to buy two as you wear this book out as a daily reference.

A must-have book for everyone who uses Adobe CS2 products.......2006-01-19

The Adobe Bridge is actually a stand-alone application and as such, is one of the most underrated parts of CS2. Terry White's Bridge book is not only well written and clear, it reveals the awesome power of the new Adobe Bridge. Other books touch on the Bridge, but Terry shows you how to use all it's features and power. There are many hidden tricks to making the Bridge work for you and they are all unveiled in the clear explanations in each section. What a great idea to take this one part of CS2 and describe each and every aspect so the reader can use the Bridge to his/her own advantage! This book is definitely worth reading and USING as you work in any application.

Good Missing Manual.......2005-12-24

A good reference of Adobe Bridge if you are handling more than photos. Since this is an application that is new to most "Creatives" this title stands as a great foundation of an application that may turn into a new type of operating system.

If you are an Photoshop expert and photos are your thing - this is may be on the basic side. But if you are more of an Indesign/Illustrator type - dealing with all sorts of things and you are not the technical type - this will be a good reference for an application that will become a staple.

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