Classical Music 101 - Book Review

American Music Teacher, Feb-March, 2003 by Paul Hanna

by Fred Plotkin. Hyperion (114 5th Ave., New York, NY 10011), 2002. 672 pp., $14.95.

Encapsulating the milieu of classical music in a single volume is a formidable task, but Fred Plotkin has by-and-large succeeded. After cutting his teeth on an earlier book, Opera 101, here he traverses a thousand years of the rest of classical music. Rather than employing a traditional historical approach as in many music history texts, Plotkin has opted for an ensemble and genre approach, centered on listening. His writing is idiomatic, combining a scholarly approach with a personal, humorous style and no shortage of opinion.

The work is the product of many years. Plotkin has authored nine books, has written for the New York Times and Opera News, among other publications, and lectures at the Juilliard School.

After a historical introduction to the orchestral instruments, Plotkin explores the literature for the symphonic form, piano, orchestral instruments, lieder and vocal music, and choral music. Each area is approached historically with recommended listening of specific recordings. Plotkin guides the reader's listening, with an emphasis on critical listening. Included is an entertaining chapter on live performance protocol, complete with how to handle cell phone users.

As a testament to the universality of music, at one point Plotkin singles out a movement from a Mozart piano concerto that symbolizes a work "... that can immediately and completely penetrate our fiber and provide us with powerful emotional sensations," the second movement of No. 23, K. 488. This work happens to be one of my own "desert island" recordings.

The book is sprinkled throughout with interviews with current and past performers who discuss their art: James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Emanuel Ax, Alfred Brendel, Joshua Bell, Christa Ludwig and Marilyn Horne. Some of the longer ones (called "conversations") could be shortened to expand the music coverage. There is, for example, no substantive discussion of string quartets, a serious shortcoming.

The book could be used as the primary text in a nonmajors' music appreciation course but works better as an individual tutorial. Even with reasonable pacing, it would take at least five years to get through all the recommended recordings (more than 200) to say nothing of a sizeable investment ($2K-$3K). But for a motivated individual, the rewards would be enormous!

Paul Hanna, Tallahassee, Florida.