Why read The Oxford History of Western Music?

Book cover of The Oxford History of Western Music

Book description

The Oxford History of Western Music is a magisterial survey of the traditions of Western music by one of the most prominent and provocative musicologists of our time. This text illuminates, through a representative sampling of masterworks, those themes, styles, and currents that give shape and direction to each musical…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Oxford History of Western Music as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ran Spiegler

Author

This is actually not one book but a five-volume (!) series of books which contains some of the best writing on classical music I’ve ever come across.

Taruskin, who passed away recently, was a legendary musicologist. In his writings, he managed to combine analytic writing that addresses his colleagues with unbelievably sharp and insightful writing that I, as a classical music fan who is not a pro, enjoy tremendously.

Taruskin loved picking intellectual fights, and this sort of combative energy is gripping. In this series, there are major story arcs like the interplay between “oral” and “literate” traditions or the…

From Ran's list on The greatest scholarly and popular-science books that both pros and amateurs can enjoy.