The NPR Listener s Encyclopedia of Classical Music

A complete education in classical music, written with verve and wit. No music lover can pick up this one-volume compendium without becoming a more knowledgeable, discerning listener. • The sonata form revealed, and why it s been deeply satisfying for three centuries. • What to listen for in Brahms, a self-described Classicist who was one of music s great innovators. • Pizzicato, fioritura, parlando, glissando. • The transformative power of Toscanini–who earned more conducting the New York Philharmonic than his contemporary Babe Ruth made with the Yankees. • And throughout, more than 2,000 recommended recordings.

Log on and listen. Created with Naxos, the world s largest classical music label, the book includes a unique Web site featuring more than 500 examples cited in the text. Look up barcarolle. First read about its swaying 6/8 meter and Venetian origins; then log on to the music Web site and hear it performed in Act IV of Offenbach s Les contes d Hoffmann. If that whets your curiosity about Offenbach, click to hear the cancan in his La vie parisienne. All online samples are marked by an icon in the text.