For the Love of Music: Invitations to Listening

by Michael Steinberg, Larry Rothe

The power of music, the way it works on the mind and heart, remains an enticing mystery. Now two noted writers on classical music, Michael Steinberg and Larry Rothe, explore the allure of this melodious art--not in the clinical terms of social scientists--but through stories drawn from their
own experience.
In For the Love of Music , Steinberg and Rothe draw on a lifetime of listening to, living with, and writing about music, sharing the delights and revelatory encounters they have had with Mozart, Brahms, Stravinsky, and a host of other great (and almost-great) composers. At once highly personal
and immediately accessible, their writings shed light on those who make music and those who listen to it--drawing readers into the beautiful and dangerous terrain that has meant so much to the authors. In recounting how they themselves came to love music, Steinberg and Rothe offer keys for
listening. Here you will find the story of a boy discovering a lifelong passion as he huddled in an alley behind a movie theater in World War II England, listening to the Fantasia soundtrack. You will meet the man who created the sound of Hollywood's Golden Age. You will learn how composers have
addressed issues as contemporary as AIDS and the terrorist attacks of September 11. You will sit in on strange and enlightening listening sessions with one of America's quirkiest music critics. And you will enter a world of mind- and soul-nourishing pleasures.
Articulate and impassioned, sophisticated but never esoteric, Steinberg and Rothe offer invigorating reflections on music that will delight both the beginning and the seasoned listener.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Biography

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Michael Steinberg was an American music critic and musicologist closely associated with the San Francisco Symphony.

Reviews

[Kevin Symmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former music student and musician, I enjoyed this book tremendously. More than dissecting many of the world's more well-know pieces--something that would have been beyond my knowledge--it offered interesting and previously unknown insights I would never have known... including anecdotal material about performance(s). It does require an interest in serious (often mislabeled classical) music not known to many. Therefore if your interest in symphonies, operas, etc is just a passing thing I would suggest you find a more basic work. But as one who has studied music, performed it and grown up in a culture where serious music was embraced I would highly recommend it.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two professional music lovers wrote some educational, insightful, humorous and engaging essays. I’ve listened to classical music (or is it concert music—one essay touches on finding a name for it) all my life, and played violin and now piano as an amateur. Even so, I learned much from these essays and certainly identified with the authors’ comments on topics such as coughing at concerts and when to clap. I enjoyed the fifteen essays on the composers in Section 2 the best. Learning more about the lives of these extraordinary artists helps me to appreciate their art better. I was disappointed not to find an essay on Beethoven, though. Yes. All are dead. That just means that great art outlasts us all.

[Kelly Sedinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this a few weeks ago and forgot to update here...this is a delightful collection of essay-length pieces that ran in the official magazine of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, alongside the program notes for that orchestra's concerts. Lots to enjoy here! I particularly recommend the pieces on Korngold and Rachmaninov.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book to necessarily read cover to cover. It is more of a reference book for when you want to move on and discover a new composer or artist. This provides an intelligent and interesting summary of many composers and highlights especially good compositions. Already have learned quite a lot when I thought I knew quite a lot already.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book so fascinating. It was an introduction to the world of Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Mahler, and all those other greats who wrote great music. It gave me a different view of them all, and made me want to go back and listen to more classical music.