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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Just finished Alex Ross's The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century. The guy can really write, so it's worth the read just for that. It is a history of classical music (which he seems to define as the work of master composers, the kind who can sit down and write a score without "picking...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“A well written, engaging chronicle of some of the most interesting music ever written. Not recommended for those without some music background.”
the musicologist wrote this review Wednesday, October 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Remarkably well-written book with profound insight. I wasn't aware that it would reference specifically the classical music genre--which I am abhorrently ignorant of--but found the infrequent allusions to popular music genres insightful.”
Davey J wrote this review Thursday, September 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“For me, the only drawback to this book was one of its strengths. There is an extensive online collections of musical clips from the works discussed. I felt compelled to listen to them all . This made for very sloooow going. ”
Kurt G wrote this review Sunday, August 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“enlightening. beautifully and simply written. ”
Vanora B wrote this review Sunday, June 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Unlike some of the other readers, I found this book to be compulsively readable, but that might be because I've been reading about music since high school. The only thing that prevents a full 5 star rating for me was the author's fixation on the sexual orientation of 20th century composers. Okay, lots of them are gay (so is the author, I take it). So what? To the extent that it informs their music, it ought to be discussed. But at times it felt as if Ross were looking for homosexuality in musicians where it doesn't really matter. It reminded me of J.K. Rowling's declaration that Dumbledore was gay. It contributed nothing to the story, and was at best a distraction.”
Dirk wrote this review Friday, May 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I was skeptical going in...not because I haven't enjoyed Alex Ross' writing in the New Yorker, but because good music criticism does not a music historian make. My doubts were unfounded. I took a risk and used this book as the text for my Music in the Twentieth Century course (for non-majors) and I'm never looking back.
Rebecca M wrote this review Saturday, April 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Ross keeps a general chronological outline, but centers a century's worth of music around a political and artistic narrative. One of the more intriguing aspects is his use of Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus as a recurring presence, drawing an inextricable link between compositional history and Faustian endeavors. However, in most cases, we see composers who battle with the Mephistopheles of totalitarianism not as raving lunatics, but as artists torn between their commitment to art and general survival.
The author is unafraid to talk about the actual music, painting vivid descriptions, and unfettering important musical concepts for a general audience. His free online audio guide is a beautiful supplement to his discussions in the book (and serves to fill in some of the necessary "gaps" ). Ross makes intriguing choices that run counter to traditional histories of twentieth century music (entire chapters devoted to Sibelius and Britten, for example), but makes a strong case for a socio-political approach rather than a canonical, or "great master" approach. Composers like Richard Strauss and Arnold Schoenberg are not confined to time frames, but reappear out of the tapestry when their music echoes in the ears of compositional trends.The twentieth century appears as a pre-existent soundscape, whose tones, rhythms, and harmonies are manipulated by the various composers traversing the various hills and streams of modernity.”
“One of the best books on music I have ever read. I believe it won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book award. I have been listening to twentieth century music for along time and this book was full of insights. I have been reading Ross's writings in the New yorker for years where he has proved himself to be one of our best writers on music. Virtually every discussion had something that would make me want to listen to that composer with new ears. This is definitely worth reading. I won't to add lthat I am not a professional musician or even amateur. I thought I was knowledgable about contemporary music until I read this book and discovered how much more there is tro know.
Alexander R wrote this review Tuesday, February 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you are new to contemporary music, Ross writes glowingly and this would be your best chance to widen your horizons. If you are a contemporary music buff, you will be surprised to find out how much more there is to the subject.
Highlky recommended ”1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Just finished Alex Ross's The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century. The guy can really write, so it's worth the read just for that. It is a history of classical music (which he seems to define as the work of master composers, the kind who can sit down and write a score without "picking it out" on an instrument, and whose work is aimed at The Culture, whatever that may be at any given moment---so he includes Weill along with Shostakovich, Boulez as well as Stravinsky, etc) in the 20th Century. But he ties it intimately to History---the events and politics of the periods under discussion, which he says is a failure of many music histories which try to pretend Music is somehow Other than its context. (Sometimes it is, but how can you tell if you don't know the context?)
Mark W. Tiedemann wrote this review Wednesday, December 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Anyway, I loved it. Excellent stuff. He comes close to suggesting that true American classical music is jazz, but not quite.
Toward the end his definitions get a bit loose. I mean, I can easily accommodate Elliot Carter in any definition of classical music, but Steven Reich and Terry Riley? I can even see Philip Glass, but Brian Eno? Ross is also stuck on the Velvet Underground as somehow the exemplary bridge between classical composition and pop. No mention whatsoever of Keith Emerson, who, despite the over-the-top aspects of ELP, has "composed" some of the most interesting music-qua-music of the latter 20th Century (using forms that anyone from Vivaldi to Samuel Barber would be right at home with) and has written a straight up piano concerto and is working on another one for EMI, but then he gets all gooey about John Cage (who I consider a musical P.T. Barnum) without a nod toward Ingraham Marshall who actually makes his music instead of finding it lying around in alleys.
But he concludes with John Adams, who is pretty well unarguably in the tradition of Gershwin and Bernstein.
(My criticisms, I admit, are purely matters of taste. Some Charles Ives just rivets me to my chair, but much of it is just dissonant prattle with lots of musicians, and as I have never cared for opera as such I have a hard time having an opinion about its relative merits.)
Anyway, good book. Causes strong reactions. Fine writing. ”
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“I don't know where to begin with this book. It was the book I was waiting for since I gorged myself on all of the Mahler symphonies in the nineties. Since then, I moved naturally on to his students, Shoenberg, Webern & Berg, and quickly became obsessed with their avant guarde sounds. Mr. Ross finally guided me through history, along with examples on the internet you may use to illustrate his points and ideas. Truly rivetting. In turns I horded it and consumed it in binges like cocaine. ”
Keith G wrote this review Wednesday, August 6 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
