The Story of One Hundred Symphonic Favorites

by Paul Grabbe

A list of the best available recordings of symphonic favorites by composer with history of each piece.

Genres: Music, Reference, Nonfiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Paul Grabbe’s education was interrupted by the Russian Revolution. He came to the USA in 1923 and became a citizen in 1932 after a variety of jobs in Coloado and California – waiter, miner, street car conductor. He taught himself English by reading books recommended by a local librarian. A Juilliard fellowship in composition took him back to New York. There he held a Rockefeller Foundation grant in the Humanities. During the 50s and 60s, he was a graphic specialist in the Federal Government. In retirement, he and his wife wrote Private World of the Last Tsar (Little, Brown). He is the author of seven books, three of them on music.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

My personal reception to this book was 2 stars. First of all, it's from 1940, which makes it more historically interesting than anything. A lot is said on Tchaikovsky, even his death, but not one thing is mentioned of his now widely known struggle with accepting his homosexuality. Then in the midst of many classics that are still essential, you have some pieces that have not stood the test of time such as Deems Taylor's "Through the Looking Glass" (How interesting that the front dust jacket has a quote promoting the book from Deems Taylor "Factual, Sympathetic, Unsentimental"). So much Romantic gloss, and absolutely nothing from Bartok, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Hindemith, or so many other composers we hold in high esteem today. Instead it's Deems Taylor, Ernest Schelling, Georges Enesco, and so many other light composers among the contemporaries.

Okay, but...at least 80% of the pieces are still widely considered essential symphonic pieces to know. The listening guides aren't generally helpful to trained musicians, but they often have some interesting points. Beethoven's section (which constitutes 10% of all the pieces in this book) is pretty well done. I think for the novice musician or casual classical fan, this is a good introduction. And the best part for a 21st century reader is that we live in an age of Spotify and YouTube. I found every single piece mentioned on Spotify, and the vast majority of the pieces have multiple recordings to choose from so you can try a recording by Bernstein, Solti, Boulez, Steiner, Toscanini, Previn or someone more recent like MacKerras, Rattle, etc. And if you are going to read this book, I highly recommend that you do take the time to listen to each and every piece after you read about them.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grand little reference work. Pocket-sized but dense, this book tackles one hundred well-known symphonic works, ranging from those with clear stories like 'Carnival of the Animals', to more typical classical pieces. These kind of works just don't exist anymore! Articulately written, exploring both the context and meaning of the work, but without being either academic or needlessly commercial. Just someone with a genuine interest in classical greats writing simple listening guides for the regular viewer. Those were the days.

[Ardalan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read the introduction of the book and that brief but rich preface of the author made me add the book to my list to be able to share it with others. Although this piece was written almost 80 years ago, it still applies to the present time. In a few pages, Grabbe talks about the importance of familiarity of the music -symphonies here- in the process of understanding and enjoyment of the listener. And also notes that how symphonies and films are different in this regard as the viewer can enjoy any film from the beginning whereas a listener of a symphony might not be able to enjoy it the first time they hear it and while a film gets boring after watching for the 2nd and 3rd times -which is unfortunately still the case for at least 90% of the movies being produced at the present time- the symphonies just start to get better and better by being heard for the 2nd and 3rd times...
I hope there comes a time when I read the rest of the book as the preface was very promising for me!

[Coenraad]

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