From Bach to Mozart to Wagner, this comprehensive, opinionated, one-volume guide ranks the top 50 classical composers, provides a detailed and anecdotal look at the life of each, and analyzes five essential works of each composer. Goulding offers specific recommendations for the best CDs, concise explanations of music terms, and more MAKE A SOUND INVESTMENT IN CLASSICAL MUSICWho are the ten most important classical composers? Who in the world was Palestrina? Why did Stravinsky's Rite of Spring cause a riot? Which five of each important composer's works should you buy? What is a concerto and how does it differ from a sonata?Maybe you don't know the answers to these questions; author Phil Goulding certainly didn't. When Goulding first tried to learn about classical music, he found himself buried in an avalanche of technical terms and complicated jargon--so he decided to write the book he couldn't find.The result is a complete classical music education in one volume. Comprehensive, discriminating, and delightfully irreverent, Classical Music provides such essential information as: * Rankings of the top 50 composers (Bach is #1. Borodin is #50) * A detailed and anecdotal look at each composer's life and work * The five primary works of each composer and specific recommended CDs for each. * Further great works of each composer--if you really like him * Concise explanations of musical terminology, forms, and periods * A guide to the parts and history of the symphony orchestra This book uses every conceivable gimmick to immerse readers in the richness of classical music: lists, rankings, sidebars devoted to lively anecdotes, and catchy leads.--The Washington PostOne terrific music appreciation book...The information is surprisingly detailed but concisely presented. Goulding's writing style is breezy yet mature....[He] has raised music appreciation from a racket to a service.--The Arizona Daily Star Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi The 50 Composers and the Also-Rans 1(25) The Organization of Sound 26(16) Setting the Stage 42(54) The Lives and the Works 96(446) Johann Sebastian Bach 96(19) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 115(16) Ludwig van Beethoven 131(14) Richard Wagner 145(12) Franz Joseph Haydn 157(11) Johannes Brahms 168(11) Franz Schubert 179(10) Robert Schumann 189(11) George Frideric Handel 200(10) Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky 210(10) Felix Mendelssohn 220(11) Antonin Dvorak 231(10) Franz Liszt 241(9) Frederic Chopin 250(9) Igor Stravinsky 259(10) Giuseppe Verdi 269(9) Gustav Mahler 278(10) Sergei Prokofiev 288(10) Dmitri Shostakovich 298(10) Richard Strauss 308(10) Hector Berlioz 318(12) Claude Debussy 330(9) Giacomo Puccini 339(6) Giovanni da Palestrina 345(7) Anton Bruckner 352(9) Georg Telemann 361(7) Camille Saint-Saens 368(7) Jean Sibelius 375(8) Maurice Ravel 383(7) Gioacchino Rossini 390(8) Edvard Grieg 398(8) Christoph Gluck 406(7) Paul Hindemith 413(8) Claudio Monteverdi 421(6) Bela Bartok 427(7) Cesar Franck 434(7) Antonio Vivaldi 441(8) Georges Bizet 449(7) Modest Mussorgsky 456(9) Jean-Philippe Rameau 465(7) Gabriel Faure 472(7) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 479(8) Gaetano Donizetti 487(6) Ralph Vaughan Williams 493(8) Bedrich Smetana 501(7) Johann Strauss 508(7) Karl Maria Von Weber 515(7) Leos Janacek 522(7) Francois Couperin 529(6) Alexander Borodin 535(7) The Orchestra 542(37) Compact-Disc Discography 579(42) Index 621