Slonimsky's Book of Musical Anecdotes

by Nicolas Slonimsky, Robert Bonotto (Illustrator)

Scathing reviews, whimsical stories, and diverting games fill the pages of this utterly engaging kaleidoscope of skewed tales on the world of Classical music. It dishes out a marvelous feast of tales served up by a master storyteller whose reach extends around the world and to the beginnings of civilization.

Genres: Music

314 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Nicolas Slonimsky (April 27 [O.S. April 15] 1894 – December 25, 1995), born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy was a Russian-American musicologist, conductor, pianist, lexicographer, and composer.

Throughout his life, Slonimsky wrote extensively for periodicals and newspapers, produced program and liner notes, and contributed to numerous reference works. He is best known for editing Theodore Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians.

Reviews

[Vincent Hernot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely enjoyable - if mostly instantly forgettable - little book. Slonimsky's knowledge of music and musicians was unbelievably extensive, and his interest in historical details give these anecdotes something extra: beyond the funny ones there's a lot of more serious ideas here and there.
Of course, despite his success with Jazzmen, Slonimsky really only knows - and talks - about classical music. But a musician is a musician is a musician, so...

[Rene Saller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is basically always on my desk, at all times. I dip into it constantly, so I can't say that I've ever "finished" it, although I'm sure I have read every page multiple times by now.