The Rest is Noise

[thoreau]

I'm reading Alex Ross' "The Rest is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century." A lushly drawn musical history of classical music in the last 100 years is pretty amazing. It starts with the Viennese premiere of Richard Strauss's Salome in 1906 and moves through the masters of the era. What I'm appreciating about the book is that its so approachable - discussing Strauss and Mahlers onagain/offagain relationship like they were alive today and being interviewed. For anyone with even a slight interest in classical music - this book is a must read. :)

Alex Ross wonders aloud why paintings by modernists such as Jackson Pollock sell for millions while challenging pieces of music, from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring onward, still make many listeners uneasy. You might recognize him as the classical music critic for the New Yorker and New York Times. Having immersed himself in the topic - he makes one of those most challenging centuries of "listening" something you can't wait to get started journeying through......

Comments

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

I'll echo the praise for this book, from the point of view of someone who has listened to a lot of the experimental rock/noise pop of the last thirty years. Ross makes the history of composition over the last hundred years very accessible and interesting, and reading him you can start to hear how and why people like Stockhausen and Varese or Steve Reich influenced Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, and so on.

[blt4success66.livejournal.com]

Oh wow...I could actually get into a book like that. I haven't done anything with my attempt at my degree in years...this might be a good read.

Thanks!

[stivalineri.livejournal.com]

I bought the book and started reading his blog, but it was getting so expensive to buy the music that went along with the essays, that I'm leery of starting the book. It's a good thing I've already got a couple versions the Mahler symphonies and Rosenkavalier, but there's always more modern classical music that I don't have and feel like I need to buy to catch up and get "with it."

[rsc.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking I should read this. I love his New Yorker stuff.