Classical Music: Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion | 
| Author: Alexander Morin
Publisher: Backbeat Books
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $9.92
You Save: $20.03 (67%)
New (23) Used (15) from $7.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 528618
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1200
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.4 x 2
ISBN: 0879306386
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.68
UPC: 073999204766
EAN: 9780879306380
ASIN: 0879306386
Publication Date: July 10, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New book- Neat and clean inside and out. Ships promptly with care.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Ranging from Gregorian chant to Philip Glass, this well-balanced guide to historical and contemporary classical music examines major works by 500 composers worldwide. It focuses on exemplary recordings of symphonies, operas, concertos, choral pieces, chamber music, piano pieces and other works performed by an international spectrum of premier conductors, musicians and vocalists. Incisive, often anecdotal critiques define the distinctive style and interpretation of thousands of selected works and recordings. Composers profiled and reviewed include: Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Brahms, Chopin, Copland, Czerny, Debussy, Gershwin, Gilbert and Sullivan, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Prokofieff, Puccini, Reich, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Varese, Wagner and hundreds of others.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 A unique overview of classical music February 8, 2008
This book is unique. It contains more than 70 individually written chapters on composers that give quick overviews of their life and work along with commentary on the available recordings of their music. Coverage ranges from the greatest names (Bach, Beethoven) to many that are much lesser known (Havergal Brian, Shulamit Ran). Of course, no such book could be complete; for example, Nikolai Kapustin and Mieczyslaw Vainberg are missing. However, this is a wonderful and essential reference book for all who love classical music.
 The Classical Omnibus August 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this in the Bargain Books section at Borders for $4.99 years ago, and what a bargain! It's incredible fun for the serious classical collector, since almost every composer, from Beethoven to the most obscure is featured along with a laundry list of recordings. It's also very useful when seeking out a new set of Sibelius symphonies, or just the right version of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, for example. Though a reference book, I read it from cover to cover, and discovered quite a few composers I had never heard of before--and subsequently picked up their music.
Unfortunately, you only get one person's opinion for each composer (if a minor one), or one for each genre of a major composer's works--such as the symphonies, the concertos, etc. So where one will praise Conductor X's way with a composer, the next one will damn him as tiresome and overrated. I also wildly disagree with many of their assessments, especially concerning Bernstein, but what can you do? Another thing, perhaps due to the sheer size and ambition of the work, is the large number of typos and mistakes. Sometimes it's a single word or two, but at least one page is missing, another page is printed twice, and at least one composer's entry is unfinished.
Still, it's an essential reference book and one that I flip through at least once a day. It nicely supplements the more familiar Penguin and Grammophone guides, and in itself serves as an intro to classical music for the novice collector (while at the same time being very desirable for the collector with over 1,000 discs!).
The Best of Them All May 31, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As a professional trombonist and avid record collector, I have used many guides over the years, and have found this one to be the most scholarly, most objective and most comprehensive guide to classical recordings. Where other guides (such as the esteemed Penguin guide) cover a half-dozen or so recordings, Third Ear begins with historical recordings and covers ALL recordings up to the present. This level of historical perspective is simply not offered by any other guide. And the range of composers covered is unsurpassed by ANY guide. Nationalistic bias is not a problem (as it is with Penguin), since there are many contributors who are each experts in their specialties. You may not agree with all of them on specific recordings, but their opinions are well-reasoned. All in all, the best guide to classical music there is.
Its not a Penguin Guide, but... December 24, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Like other reviewers, the book both perplexes and fascinates me. Recordings that Penguin often awards a 'Rosette" to are often totally trashed in this book; seldom do they agree (and frankly I trust the crusted editors of Penguin much more). That said, my copy of "Classic Music" is just about worn-out. I read and reread it incesstantly. It is a goldmine of information about the composers, compositions, and artists. I am anxiously waiting for an update. High recommended. A must for any serious collector of "serious" music.
Classical Music Guide November 3, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is an extremely comprehensive guide to classical music by over 500 composers and provides authoritative recommendations on the various performances of their works that are available on record. For each composer there is detailed information about their life and a critical analysis of their work. So this is both a biographical dictionary and a guide to recorded music. The articles are well written in an accessible style and the book is attractively produced. Highly recommended for the classical music lover.
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