For The Love of Music: Invitations to Listening

From Publishers Weekly
In his chapter on Sibelius and Mahler, Rothe asks how music might have progressed if these giants had composed more, noting "such speculation might be more suited to the late hours of a cocktail party." Rothe thus captures the flavor of this entire volume, in which he and Steinberg expound on subjects ranging from their burgeoning interest in music to George Perle's life and work to poor audience behavior. These are not analytical pieces on specific works, but broader essays, most of which originally appeared in San Francisco Symphony programs. Steinberg's essays are the stand-outs here, including his informative and inspiring "Salute" to conductor and impresario Theodore Thomas and his recommendations on acquainting oneself with Robert Schumann's music. Rothe is less consistent: his "Vienna Trilogy" begins as a colorful tourist's guide but devolves into a silly postulation of a dinner shared by Mahler, Schoenberg and Freud, and his essay about Mahler and Sibelius contrasts Sibelius's "profound logic" with Mahler's "all-embracing" grandiosity, neglecting the profound inner logic of Mahler's works. The writing is engaging and easy to read, but dates for each essay would have established helpful contexts.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Written for the classical-music listener, these essays, separately written by Steinberg and Rothe, cover three eras of composers, music "missionaries," affairs to remember, and concert audiences. More than biographical, they coax listener-readers to delve into music through analysis of style, influences of contemporary culture, comparisons of different composers' music, and descriptions of composers' motivations and techniques. They also contain the personal observations of veteran music-writers Steinberg, program annotator for orchestras in Boston, Minnesota, New York, and San Francisco, whose style is mostly analytical and direct; and Rothe, publications editor for the San Francisco Symphony, who adopts a mostly philosophical approach. Bracketed by introductions by each author on how they were introduced to classical music and a postlude covering audience approbation, the essays stimulate readers to respond to all the nuances of the classical music they hear in concert and at home and to appreciate what went into its creation.^B They afford a rewarding exploration of many facets of music that are rarely illuminated. Alan Hirsch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.