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Stephen Fry's Incomplete & Utter History of Classical Music
Hello, Im Stephen Fry. Now time for the first outing of a brand, spanking new feature here on The Incomplete Utter History of Classical Music putting some unsuspecting figure in music under the spotlight. In his Incomplete Utter History of Classical Music, Stephen Fry presents a potted and brilliantly rambling 700-year history of classical music and the world as we know it. Along this musical journey he casually throws in references to pretty much whatever takes his fancy, from the Mongol invasion of Russia and Mr. Khan (Genghis to his friends), the founding of the MCC, the Black Death (which once again became the new black in England), to the heady revolutionary atmosphere of Mozarts Don Giovanni and the deep doo-doo that Louis XVI got into (or du-du as the French would say). Its all here. Ambrose and early English plainsong, Bach, Mozart (beloved of mobile phones everywhere), Beethoven, Debussy, Wagner (the old romantic), right up to the present day. Entertaining and brilliantly written, this is a pretty reckless romp of a history through classical music and much much more.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
62 people are currently reading
1866 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Fry
73 books12.1k followersStephen John Fry is an English comedian, writer, actor, humourist, novelist, poet, columnist, filmmaker, television personality and technophile. As one half of the Fry and Laurie double act with his comedy partner, Hugh Laurie, he has appeared in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. He is also famous for his roles in Blackadder and Wilde, and as the host of QI. In addition to writing for stage, screen, television and radio he has contributed columns and articles for numerous newspapers and magazines, and has also written four successful novels and a series of memoirs.
See also Mrs. Stephen Fry as a pseudonym of the author.
See also Mrs. Stephen Fry as a pseudonym of the author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
February 29, 2024
As my annual motto (to be seen in the top post of my 2024 reading challenge) suggests, a lot this year is not only about reading but about music, too. So I'm ready a lot about music. *lol*
Honestly, the history and evolution of music, making music (invention and building of instruments), and how this bled into the general history of humanity (and vice versa) is almost endlessly fascinating to me. Music is one of those universal languages. It doesn't matter where you are, if you speak the language, if you just moved to some pllace and don't know anyone, if you're at an event, if there's a pandemic even - music makes everything better. We can express our feeling through music and through the music someone else has written we feel understood. Much like with books.
Stephen Fry, international treasure par excellence, seem sto love music as well. According to what he claims (in this book and at other times), he can't sing for shit and doesn't play any instrument but like me, he is very much interested in the history and still enjoys listening to it. Particularly classical music.
Thus, there was a radio program he made many years ago where he went through the history of classical music and eventually, someone had the (really great) idea of publishing that and more as a book. Having listened to the original radio broadcast, I have to say that while the radio program came first, the book is superior BY FAR.
We literally start at the beginning of humanity. Ok, not exactly since we had already come down from the trees as it were. But some caves in France with the oldest wall paintings show that we used music back then already so ALMOST at the very beginning.
Then came the ancient times like Egypt, Babylonia, Sumeria and such.
Followed by the first singing (Church music like plainsong and madrigals).
Skip forward a couple of hundred years into the Renaissance and soon the Baroque where some of THE biggest names started popping up.
Afterwards, we invented new forms such as operas, started getting serious about the manufacturing of a diverse set of instruments which opened up whole new areas of making music.
If this summary feels to you like one of those tours with a cab through Rome where you speed by so fast the driver bearely has time to shout the name of the landmark you're passing, that's exactly how I felt while listening to the audio recording. *lol*
The book, I was relieved to discover went into way more detail, also showing rather than just telling of how certain things changed (like notes for sheet music).
Sure, the audio gave some cool samples, but most were way too long anyway so the whole production felt like a skeleton with no meat on the bones. And the cool thing about the print version was that I could simply search for the respective music in Apple Music or on YouTube and listen while I was reading the book.
As Stephen Fry already admitted with the title and reiterated in the book's foreword, this does not aim at giving a complete overview. Unfortunately, it really couldn't, not by a long shot. Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT place to start. But I'm currently also listening to the lectures of Robert Greenberg (one for each great master composer) so this felt too thin. An unfair comparison, I know, hence my correcting through the rating.
Because make no mistake: this is a work of love by a person who knows an awful lot about nearly everything. I especially love how Fry expresses his own enthusiasm and knowledge by putting everything into context in a very approachable way, which makes for a holisitic reading / learning experience.
Total recommendation for anyone interested in the history of music in general.
Honestly, the history and evolution of music, making music (invention and building of instruments), and how this bled into the general history of humanity (and vice versa) is almost endlessly fascinating to me. Music is one of those universal languages. It doesn't matter where you are, if you speak the language, if you just moved to some pllace and don't know anyone, if you're at an event, if there's a pandemic even - music makes everything better. We can express our feeling through music and through the music someone else has written we feel understood. Much like with books.
Stephen Fry, international treasure par excellence, seem sto love music as well. According to what he claims (in this book and at other times), he can't sing for shit and doesn't play any instrument but like me, he is very much interested in the history and still enjoys listening to it. Particularly classical music.
Thus, there was a radio program he made many years ago where he went through the history of classical music and eventually, someone had the (really great) idea of publishing that and more as a book. Having listened to the original radio broadcast, I have to say that while the radio program came first, the book is superior BY FAR.
We literally start at the beginning of humanity. Ok, not exactly since we had already come down from the trees as it were. But some caves in France with the oldest wall paintings show that we used music back then already so ALMOST at the very beginning.
Then came the ancient times like Egypt, Babylonia, Sumeria and such.
Followed by the first singing (Church music like plainsong and madrigals).
Skip forward a couple of hundred years into the Renaissance and soon the Baroque where some of THE biggest names started popping up.
Afterwards, we invented new forms such as operas, started getting serious about the manufacturing of a diverse set of instruments which opened up whole new areas of making music.
If this summary feels to you like one of those tours with a cab through Rome where you speed by so fast the driver bearely has time to shout the name of the landmark you're passing, that's exactly how I felt while listening to the audio recording. *lol*
The book, I was relieved to discover went into way more detail, also showing rather than just telling of how certain things changed (like notes for sheet music).
Sure, the audio gave some cool samples, but most were way too long anyway so the whole production felt like a skeleton with no meat on the bones. And the cool thing about the print version was that I could simply search for the respective music in Apple Music or on YouTube and listen while I was reading the book.
As Stephen Fry already admitted with the title and reiterated in the book's foreword, this does not aim at giving a complete overview. Unfortunately, it really couldn't, not by a long shot. Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT place to start. But I'm currently also listening to the lectures of Robert Greenberg (one for each great master composer) so this felt too thin. An unfair comparison, I know, hence my correcting through the rating.
Because make no mistake: this is a work of love by a person who knows an awful lot about nearly everything. I especially love how Fry expresses his own enthusiasm and knowledge by putting everything into context in a very approachable way, which makes for a holisitic reading / learning experience.
Total recommendation for anyone interested in the history of music in general.
June 22, 2017
Stephen Fry is, of course, a tremendously funny man. And it would hardly be controversial to say that he represents a particularly English perspective on things. The perspective of a privately-educated, cricket-loving, sesquipedalian Oxbridge graduate. He's almost a romanticised version of an Englishman - the funny, bumbling, cultural, delightful dinner guest. You could imagine that the inside of his head is a 1930s wood-panelled library, Radio 4 on in the background, a faint whiff of pipesmoke in the carpet. Except of course the wireless wouldn't be tuned to the World at One, it would be blaring out The Onedin Line; played for the twelth time that day on Classic FM.
His book - through Classic FM - traces 'classical music' (read: western music) from the very earliest traces of music and instruments in mesopotamia right the way to the cutting edge of the year 2003, when the book was written. And it is a book that could only have been written by Fry. It's an attempt to capture the spirit of Classic FM - crowd-pleasing tunes and tidbits of information - in his style of dinner party conversation.
I kind of wish I liked it.
I honestly found this book tiring to read. Not because anything in it is approaching hard to understand - it's not - but because Fry keeps changing the tempo, font, structure, tone, perspective, and humour levels every three or four paragraphs. Reading for more than a few pages at a time felt like I was watching one of Robin Williams' more esoteric standup routines, playing myriad characters one after the other while you try to catch up. Just much, much less funny. It really doesn't work in print form. It's of course an attempt to make interesting subject matter that some might consider boring, but the phrase 'throw enough shit at a wall and some of it will stick' comes to mind. The book would have benefited significantly from a more coherent structure - even just within individual chapters - and consistent tone. The story the book covers is interesting enough on its own without the need to constantly change gears in an attempt to keep peoples' interest.
I'm sure that Fry's decision to write the book in this way will have kept some readers interested who otherwise would have drifted off mid-way through. Which is the point of it and of Classic FM - to engage a broader audience with classical music and remove some of the perceived barriers and requisites to listening to 'posh person music'. Fry talking about how music has been used in adverts and about his personal experiences with certain pieces will definitely make the subject matter more relatable. And it should be commended for that. But I do not believe that the style he chose widens access to a point where it justifies diminishing the source material, and the reader experience of it.
If I were to criticise the book more on its content that it's style I would definitely say that while Fry gives a clear structure to the evolution of music (insofar as the names we use to describe the periods) his personal preference for the romantics shines very clearly. The renaissance and baroque periods don't come off so badly from this, and the classical era itself gets a strong representation, but 20th century music as a whole gets entirely shafted. The book ends with a whimper not a bang, almost as if Fry figures that nothing really mattered in music after Wagner and Mahler died, and several modernist movements such as minimalism and post-minimalism don't even get a mention. Of course being an author allows you to put your personal preferences and biases into your work, and its entirely fair that Fry exercises that right. I guess I would just have preferred to see more discussion of early music, modern music, and more than a handful of words about the huge breadth of religious music that has been written consistently since the classical period. Also Fry just starts to tackle film music and whether it is the spiritual successor to 'classical music' before the book just ends abruptly. No conclusion to that discussion. No discussion of jazz and blues and rock and soul branching out from existing forms of 'classical music'. After the amount of time you spent talking about Wagner???
This isn't to say that I didn't learn anything from the book. During my time in Fry's musty library I picked up quite a few tidbits that I'll undoubtedly blurt out on demand like a serial viewer of QI. But this felt like more of a missed opportunity than a resounding success. If you enjoy listening to Classic FM, references to 1980s advertising campaigns, Wagner, have an attention span of about a minute at a time, and think that Stephen Fry is the modern day version of Oscar Wilde then you'll probably love this book. Otherwise, I'd recommend other titles.
His book - through Classic FM - traces 'classical music' (read: western music) from the very earliest traces of music and instruments in mesopotamia right the way to the cutting edge of the year 2003, when the book was written. And it is a book that could only have been written by Fry. It's an attempt to capture the spirit of Classic FM - crowd-pleasing tunes and tidbits of information - in his style of dinner party conversation.
I kind of wish I liked it.
I honestly found this book tiring to read. Not because anything in it is approaching hard to understand - it's not - but because Fry keeps changing the tempo, font, structure, tone, perspective, and humour levels every three or four paragraphs. Reading for more than a few pages at a time felt like I was watching one of Robin Williams' more esoteric standup routines, playing myriad characters one after the other while you try to catch up. Just much, much less funny. It really doesn't work in print form. It's of course an attempt to make interesting subject matter that some might consider boring, but the phrase 'throw enough shit at a wall and some of it will stick' comes to mind. The book would have benefited significantly from a more coherent structure - even just within individual chapters - and consistent tone. The story the book covers is interesting enough on its own without the need to constantly change gears in an attempt to keep peoples' interest.
I'm sure that Fry's decision to write the book in this way will have kept some readers interested who otherwise would have drifted off mid-way through. Which is the point of it and of Classic FM - to engage a broader audience with classical music and remove some of the perceived barriers and requisites to listening to 'posh person music'. Fry talking about how music has been used in adverts and about his personal experiences with certain pieces will definitely make the subject matter more relatable. And it should be commended for that. But I do not believe that the style he chose widens access to a point where it justifies diminishing the source material, and the reader experience of it.
If I were to criticise the book more on its content that it's style I would definitely say that while Fry gives a clear structure to the evolution of music (insofar as the names we use to describe the periods) his personal preference for the romantics shines very clearly. The renaissance and baroque periods don't come off so badly from this, and the classical era itself gets a strong representation, but 20th century music as a whole gets entirely shafted. The book ends with a whimper not a bang, almost as if Fry figures that nothing really mattered in music after Wagner and Mahler died, and several modernist movements such as minimalism and post-minimalism don't even get a mention. Of course being an author allows you to put your personal preferences and biases into your work, and its entirely fair that Fry exercises that right. I guess I would just have preferred to see more discussion of early music, modern music, and more than a handful of words about the huge breadth of religious music that has been written consistently since the classical period. Also Fry just starts to tackle film music and whether it is the spiritual successor to 'classical music' before the book just ends abruptly. No conclusion to that discussion. No discussion of jazz and blues and rock and soul branching out from existing forms of 'classical music'. After the amount of time you spent talking about Wagner???
This isn't to say that I didn't learn anything from the book. During my time in Fry's musty library I picked up quite a few tidbits that I'll undoubtedly blurt out on demand like a serial viewer of QI. But this felt like more of a missed opportunity than a resounding success. If you enjoy listening to Classic FM, references to 1980s advertising campaigns, Wagner, have an attention span of about a minute at a time, and think that Stephen Fry is the modern day version of Oscar Wilde then you'll probably love this book. Otherwise, I'd recommend other titles.
November 27, 2008
Now I understand that's nothing to be shame of if you're teenager and do like opera:)
August 31, 2018
Ovoj knjizi je veoma teško dati ocenu. Kolebala sam se u rasponu od 2 do 5*. Obožavam Fraja i njegov smisao za humor, čak mi se dopada i taj posh pogled na svet sve dok je kritički, a jeste. Kao čovek iz usko muzičke profesije, svesna sam težine zadatka da se predstavi istorija muzike na konzistentan, informativan a zabavan način tako da bude korisna jednako ljubiteljima, (ne)poznavaocima i stručnjacima. I nekako je uspeo u tome, samo u različitim delovima knjige. Neočekivano, najviše je omanuo sa humorom. Od prve stranice je očigledno da je čitava knjiga delo jednog maničara - dosetke, analogije, igre rečima, samo pljušte i pršte. Ali kao kod stendap komičara, nekad prosto bude neprijatno od tolike napregnute želje da mora da se bude duhovit sa svakom rečenicom. Takođe, veoma je ali veoma brit-centrična, kako po pitanju humora, tako i pristupa, podrazumevanja mnogo čega.
Opet neočekivano, najbolje su mu fore kada se zaista tiču muzike. Nekima znam da ću se često vraćati kad mi bude potreban "brzi fiks smeha".
Najveći plus knjige je što je na jednostavan način uspeo da objasni i približi neke pojmove i situacije iz istorije muzike, a da je pritom to izvedeno duhovito, veoma plastično i jasno. Tipa, šta je kontrapunkt i zašto je važan, kako se smenjuju stilovi u muzici, odnos centra i periferije, razliku između nemačke i italijanske romantičarske opere, kako zvuči celostepena lestvica i još svašta nešto.
Preporuka je takođe, za one koji su fakultativni poznavaoci da se uz čitanje paralelno i sluša muzika o kojoj je reč, ogroman bonus. Utisci o muzici su mu sasvim lični a ipak vuku da odmah čuješ te kompozicije i sam proveriš koliko delite utiske.
Opet neočekivano, najbolje su mu fore kada se zaista tiču muzike. Nekima znam da ću se često vraćati kad mi bude potreban "brzi fiks smeha".
Najveći plus knjige je što je na jednostavan način uspeo da objasni i približi neke pojmove i situacije iz istorije muzike, a da je pritom to izvedeno duhovito, veoma plastično i jasno. Tipa, šta je kontrapunkt i zašto je važan, kako se smenjuju stilovi u muzici, odnos centra i periferije, razliku između nemačke i italijanske romantičarske opere, kako zvuči celostepena lestvica i još svašta nešto.
Preporuka je takođe, za one koji su fakultativni poznavaoci da se uz čitanje paralelno i sluša muzika o kojoj je reč, ogroman bonus. Utisci o muzici su mu sasvim lični a ipak vuku da odmah čuješ te kompozicije i sam proveriš koliko delite utiske.
January 11, 2012
Feel like an enjoyable ride through the history of music? Come on - hop on the Fry express!
Multi-talented Stephen Fry takes his readers on an educational and interesting journey through time, starting with the very beginnings of music and going on into the 20th century. Short, wittily titled chapters describe developments in music theory, composition, instruments and general trends in the world of music in chronological order and introduce important composers. All this is sprinkled with a lot of anecdotes and remarks that are a joy to read.
For many authors, this recipe doesn't work all the way through a book, but Fry does manage to keep the reader riveted. Even theoretical subjects never come across dry and drab. His numerous little stories about composers' more or less mad quirks (my favourite: "Barmy Berlioz"!) as well as Fry's own overflowing imagination made me laugh so much. (Reading this in public, e.g. on the bus or train, is not recommended. There might be some strange glances from fellow travellers due to uncontrollable, repeated laughing fits.)
Fry's unique humour and his witty-clever-crazy style make this book highly enjoyable for all fans of Fry and classical music. I had so much fun reading this that I am ready to forgive Mr. Fry for liking Wagner and thinking all organists have bats in the belfry.
There's just one little flaw: many German or French expressions or names are misspelled. This happened a bit too often for my taste.
Apart from that, a true highlight in my view.
Multi-talented Stephen Fry takes his readers on an educational and interesting journey through time, starting with the very beginnings of music and going on into the 20th century. Short, wittily titled chapters describe developments in music theory, composition, instruments and general trends in the world of music in chronological order and introduce important composers. All this is sprinkled with a lot of anecdotes and remarks that are a joy to read.
For many authors, this recipe doesn't work all the way through a book, but Fry does manage to keep the reader riveted. Even theoretical subjects never come across dry and drab. His numerous little stories about composers' more or less mad quirks (my favourite: "Barmy Berlioz"!) as well as Fry's own overflowing imagination made me laugh so much. (Reading this in public, e.g. on the bus or train, is not recommended. There might be some strange glances from fellow travellers due to uncontrollable, repeated laughing fits.)
Fry's unique humour and his witty-clever-crazy style make this book highly enjoyable for all fans of Fry and classical music. I had so much fun reading this that I am ready to forgive Mr. Fry for liking Wagner and thinking all organists have bats in the belfry.
There's just one little flaw: many German or French expressions or names are misspelled. This happened a bit too often for my taste.
Apart from that, a true highlight in my view.
February 20, 2016
Stephen Fry has a lovely knack for being enthusiastic about things he loves without sounding apologetic or snobbish, and in a way that is both inspiring and dreadfully catchy. I was listening to the radio programme during the past month and was a bit sceptical about how something so heavily relying on the audio part could be translated into printed words, but the book is every inch as delightful - I've never seen such a creative and yet unobtrusive use of fonts and other little extras that help to bring music to the pages (and let's be real, nobody but a huge nerd - and I mean it as a compliment - would have the name of his favourite composer printed in a font one size larger, throughout the whole book). Even the dreaded smileys that I normally find disturbing were actually helpful - not least because I'm prone to believing just about anything from the author. Very helpful, very funny, extremely enjoyable.
October 28, 2012
What makes this so much fun to read is that you can feel Stephen Fry's passion for classical music!
March 28, 2021
A brilliant and very funny man with a lot of passion for classical music manages somehow to write a profoundly unfunny book that says very little about classical music. A big disappointment.
March 24, 2018
Stephen Fry walks his reader through classical music, from a cave painting in France to John Williams' Harry Potter score.
I really appreciated this one for the timeline aspect; I've never been good at remembering who came when in this field, and generally I just assume that Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff et al. were all kicking around in the 1750s (DON'T JUDGE ME!). So, yeah, this was a good read for me. My only tiny little quibble - because I love Stephen Fry with all my heart and in general think that he can do no wrong - is that I can't quite figure out how to handle the tone. It's flippant and jokey all the way through and after about 1/3 of the book that started to wear a bit and I felt bad that it was starting to wear a bit because, again, I love Stephen Fry. So much. I suspect that it would be easier to take in an audio version, especially, of course, if Fry read it himself.
I really appreciated this one for the timeline aspect; I've never been good at remembering who came when in this field, and generally I just assume that Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff et al. were all kicking around in the 1750s (DON'T JUDGE ME!). So, yeah, this was a good read for me. My only tiny little quibble - because I love Stephen Fry with all my heart and in general think that he can do no wrong - is that I can't quite figure out how to handle the tone. It's flippant and jokey all the way through and after about 1/3 of the book that started to wear a bit and I felt bad that it was starting to wear a bit because, again, I love Stephen Fry. So much. I suspect that it would be easier to take in an audio version, especially, of course, if Fry read it himself.
January 27, 2016
Не книга про историю музыки, а словно транскрипт околомузыкальной аудиопередачи или телешоу, по-фраевски забавного, познавательного, с прибаутками и звуковыми спецэффектами. Не скажу, что я, настоящий профан в истории классической музыки, заполнила многие пробелы в образовании этой "Историей", но читать было интересно и весело, да и захотелось лишить-таки себя козыря в игре humiliation и послушать, наконец, Вагнера.
July 5, 2013
I feel more knowledgeable after reading this short overview of classical music's history. More importantly, I feel like diving into Spotify to try some new tunes. Might even give Wagner a go.
The book is too witty for my taste, probably cause it wasn't actually written by the master himself.
The book is too witty for my taste, probably cause it wasn't actually written by the master himself.
March 7, 2022
I’ve not been having much luck with Stephen Fry’s books of late. I’m not sure why that is because I used to quite enjoy his stuff, but I think that maybe it’s because the last couple have been non-fiction, and I don’t like the way that he handles that.
For example, one of the things that bugged me here is that he used a little smiley face symbol to delineate when he was making jokes. Call me crazy, but I feel as though if you need to clarify every time you’re making a joke, your jokes can’t be very good.
And I’m also not sure why they needed to be there. This was one of my problems with The Ode Less Travelled, too. With non-fiction at least, I’d rather that he just covered the topic rather than faff about with trying to be funny. That’s not why I’m here.
The actual information itself was pretty good and there was some super interesting information here, I just didn’t really vibe with the way that it was presented. I think it would have been a much more engaging read, not to mention fifty pages shorter, if he’d just cut to the chase.
And that’s why it became a bedtime book, rather than a main read. I don’t think I would have been able to put up with it if I was devoting all of my reading time to it, and I’m pretty glad that I approached it the way that I did.
All in all, would I recommend it? Probably not unless you’re trying to read everything that Fry has written or you love classical music.
For example, one of the things that bugged me here is that he used a little smiley face symbol to delineate when he was making jokes. Call me crazy, but I feel as though if you need to clarify every time you’re making a joke, your jokes can’t be very good.
And I’m also not sure why they needed to be there. This was one of my problems with The Ode Less Travelled, too. With non-fiction at least, I’d rather that he just covered the topic rather than faff about with trying to be funny. That’s not why I’m here.
The actual information itself was pretty good and there was some super interesting information here, I just didn’t really vibe with the way that it was presented. I think it would have been a much more engaging read, not to mention fifty pages shorter, if he’d just cut to the chase.
And that’s why it became a bedtime book, rather than a main read. I don’t think I would have been able to put up with it if I was devoting all of my reading time to it, and I’m pretty glad that I approached it the way that I did.
All in all, would I recommend it? Probably not unless you’re trying to read everything that Fry has written or you love classical music.
August 1, 2023
I got this as a Christmas present years ago and had it sat on a bookshelf for ages before I've finally recently dusted it down, and actually read it. One reason it took so long for me to get to it, was that I remember having a glance inside the book, years ago, and seeing a load of weird font styles and sizes, and decided that it was going to be a bit too quirky and annoying, and so I kept passing on it. Anyway, I began reading it, and personally, quickly found these little publishing quirks to be only a minor grievance at most, and so my initial misgivings were soon happily transcended...
To the actual content of this book, firstly to state that Stephen Fry didn't actually write it, he dictated the main body of it, I think, to Classic Fm's Tim Lihoreau, who then wrote it all up, and it's based on the radio show these two men did together at some earlier point. The style is very much Fry though, and his humour and wit shine as you move through the book, although sometimes the odd joke can be a bit corny, but not the end of the world bad or anything...
The book moves through the ages of music from early through to modern, with your baroque, renaissance, classical, romantic etc in-between, and is split into a few large parts, with many little sections within each. As well as detailing the changing eras of music as the book progresses, you obviously meet all the various composers, and learn something of the symphonies, operas, concertos etc, that they wrote, as well as gleaning something of their personal lives, which makes for a good mix. Running throughout the musical details, is a constant parallel feed of information about each age in a wider historical sense. You are told of the wars and political strife happening at each historical juncture, as well as art and literature, and scientific advancements that are coming out as we move through the years towards modernity, and I liked this, as it helped give a wider context to the composers' lives and times.
Another good thing about the book is that you get to see exactly where all the composers came chronologically in history, which clears it all up in your mind, knowing exactly where everyone stood in time, which was enlightening for me anyway...
I really enjoyed the book, and learnt a lot, particularly music-wise, and the whole journey it takes you on is fascinating, from the early musical rumblings, right up to modern film composers, and I was glad I eventually gave the book a go. Some of the little jokes can get a bit tedious, and the crazy fonts and wacky visual presentation of the book may infuriate some readers, but if you can get past these minor irritations, then I think this will be a pleasurable read for many people...I certainly found it well worth my time, anyway...
To the actual content of this book, firstly to state that Stephen Fry didn't actually write it, he dictated the main body of it, I think, to Classic Fm's Tim Lihoreau, who then wrote it all up, and it's based on the radio show these two men did together at some earlier point. The style is very much Fry though, and his humour and wit shine as you move through the book, although sometimes the odd joke can be a bit corny, but not the end of the world bad or anything...
The book moves through the ages of music from early through to modern, with your baroque, renaissance, classical, romantic etc in-between, and is split into a few large parts, with many little sections within each. As well as detailing the changing eras of music as the book progresses, you obviously meet all the various composers, and learn something of the symphonies, operas, concertos etc, that they wrote, as well as gleaning something of their personal lives, which makes for a good mix. Running throughout the musical details, is a constant parallel feed of information about each age in a wider historical sense. You are told of the wars and political strife happening at each historical juncture, as well as art and literature, and scientific advancements that are coming out as we move through the years towards modernity, and I liked this, as it helped give a wider context to the composers' lives and times.
Another good thing about the book is that you get to see exactly where all the composers came chronologically in history, which clears it all up in your mind, knowing exactly where everyone stood in time, which was enlightening for me anyway...
I really enjoyed the book, and learnt a lot, particularly music-wise, and the whole journey it takes you on is fascinating, from the early musical rumblings, right up to modern film composers, and I was glad I eventually gave the book a go. Some of the little jokes can get a bit tedious, and the crazy fonts and wacky visual presentation of the book may infuriate some readers, but if you can get past these minor irritations, then I think this will be a pleasurable read for many people...I certainly found it well worth my time, anyway...
June 1, 2017
Deməli belə:
Həddən artıq maraqlı, klassik musiqiyə aid bir kitab bundan böyük zövqlə oxuna bilməzdi. Müəllifi alqışlayıram, belə getsə Frayın yaradıcılığına hələ çox qayıdacam. Kitab yorucu deyil, əksinə dili çox maraqlıdır, zarafatlar, bənzətmələr kitabı əyləncəli edir. Lakin, kutab bir balaca ensikpoledik təsir bağışladığından adam zaman zaman qırağa qoyub dincəlmək istəyir. (Birdə istəyirsən hər şeyi əzbərləyib yadında saxlayadan, amma olmuur, olmuuurrr😣) İlləri keçdikcə, həmin dövrdə olan hadisələrlə paralellər aparılır, mənə görə bunlar kitabın ən maraqlı hissələridir.
Mən elə bilirdim klassik musiqi, hardasa 20-ci əsrin əvvələrində bitir, amma təsnifata görə hələ də opera yazılırsa, klassika sağdır. Bir bunu başa düşmədim.
Faydalı kitabdır, vaxtınız olsa vərəqləyin.
Həddən artıq maraqlı, klassik musiqiyə aid bir kitab bundan böyük zövqlə oxuna bilməzdi. Müəllifi alqışlayıram, belə getsə Frayın yaradıcılığına hələ çox qayıdacam. Kitab yorucu deyil, əksinə dili çox maraqlıdır, zarafatlar, bənzətmələr kitabı əyləncəli edir. Lakin, kutab bir balaca ensikpoledik təsir bağışladığından adam zaman zaman qırağa qoyub dincəlmək istəyir. (Birdə istəyirsən hər şeyi əzbərləyib yadında saxlayadan, amma olmuur, olmuuurrr😣) İlləri keçdikcə, həmin dövrdə olan hadisələrlə paralellər aparılır, mənə görə bunlar kitabın ən maraqlı hissələridir.
Mən elə bilirdim klassik musiqi, hardasa 20-ci əsrin əvvələrində bitir, amma təsnifata görə hələ də opera yazılırsa, klassika sağdır. Bir bunu başa düşmədim.
Faydalı kitabdır, vaxtınız olsa vərəqləyin.
April 11, 2010
The depth and richness of classical music history is in itself a major problem - too often they can look very much like text from Musicology 1A, or what's worse, Musicology 2A. Fry avoids all this by taking quite an irreverent attitude to the composers, from "Eddie the Eagle" Elgar to "Mad Hector" Berlioz. This keeps it very light and easy to read, while at the same time imparting a ton of information about music from medieval times to the 21st century. Lots of listening recommendations in there too. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2012
horribly written. excruciating use of language, and embarrassingly poor jokes. sort of blaming that on the hired writer person, or the fact that it was commissioned by classic fm?
also, it tends to go into details about things like what brahms had for breakfast and completely omit things like temperament.
most of the time i was reading it i had that embarrassment-on-behalf-of-someone-else, like seeing a really bad play.
also, it tends to go into details about things like what brahms had for breakfast and completely omit things like temperament.
most of the time i was reading it i had that embarrassment-on-behalf-of-someone-else, like seeing a really bad play.
June 28, 2014
While I don't agree with Fry on his opinions of modern music and his love for Mozart and Wagner, his history of classical music is a funny one. The book could have benefitted from a more rigid editor though, the phrase "Glad to have cleared that up" crops up a little bit too often.
August 4, 2014
Very funny written book about classical music and its history. Focus lies on opera, which would not have been my choice, but allright. Still quite worthwile to read!
June 10, 2015
so Stephen Fry! Not just classical, but writers, art, etc, he put it all into context. I just wanted to listen to each piece of music he mentioned!
May 21, 2017
228 - 2017
January 7, 2018
я конечно фрая безмерно люблю, но какой же он все-таки графоман
August 11, 2011
Законченно, но не окончательно
Елена Карп��с-Дедюхина
Рецензия на книгу "Неполная и окончательная история классической музыки"
автор: Стивен Фрай
Законченно, но не окончательно
Автор рецензии: Дедюхина Елена
Дата публикации: 12 июля 2007 г.
Это книга об истории музыки. Истории окончательной – не подлежащей пересмотру или отмене и неполной – не вполне законченной, не исчерпывающей. Здесь нет противоречия – во фраевской философии это вполне логично. Стивен Фрай не претендует на то, что его книга – научный труд, он изначально отдает предпочтение всему парадоксальному и сам является ярчайшим представителем «парадокса во плоти». Фрай пошел путем полного «размывания границ» между вымышленным автором и реально существующим. В подлиннике книга называется Stephen Fry’s Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music: As Told to Tim Lihoreau by Stephen Fry and Tim Lihoreau. Это Вам что-нибудь объясняет? Кто кому рассказал эту историю: Стивен Фрай Тиму Лигаро или Стивен Фрай и Тим Лигаро Стивену Фраю и Тиму Лигаро? А вот записал ее, понятное дело, Стивен Фрай. Со слов ли Тима Лигаро, как значится в переводе – это еще предстоит выяснить. Книга действительно рассказывает о зарождении вообще всякой музыки на заре становления человечества и о ее развитии в качестве именно классической музыки. Развитие это происходит усилиями всего человечества. Читателю придется многое додумывать и домысливать. Диктат автора – непременный атрибут успеха Фрая у своего читателя.
По собственному признанию, Стивен Фрай, как беременная слониха, чувствующая время наступающих родов, уединяется, и в скором времени на свет появляется новое литературное творение. Его издателям остается лишь мечтать о том времени, когда он уединится где-нибудь в Саванне на как можно больший срок, и родит как можно больше шедевров… Подобных этому.
Кто из нас, непрофессионалов в музыке, не проходивших предмет под загадочным названием «музлитература», имеет представление о том, как музыка развивалась на протяжении 700 лет? Считанные единицы. Для исправления этой несправедливости Стивен Фрай (а может, Тим Лигаро, используя литературное дарование друга) расскажут нам, какие этапы внутриутробного развития проходила музыка, как она появлялась на свет, как затем влияла на жизнь людей в прошлом и настоящем. Рассказано это будет с юмором и легкостью Фигаро. Его образ вполне уместен, ведь Моцарт – любимейший композитор автора.
«Вивальди, господин, в распоряжении коего имелось 400 концертов и Две Женщины, уже умер… Музыкальный мир обрел композитора… Карл Диттерс фон Диттерсдорф. Уж и не знаю, почему его родители не сэкономили на дорогостоящих чернилах и не назвали его, скажем: Карл Сникерс Чтоб ты Сдох. На самом-то деле много они не сэкономили бы, верно? – но полагаю, намек мой вы поняли…». Для тех, кто во враждебных отношениях с «чисто английским юмором», Стивен Фрай предусмотрительно расставил смайлики.
История заканчивается 2000-м годом. На дворе 2007-й. Назвав свою историю «окончательной», Стивен Фрай поступил неосмотрительно. На месте замечательного переводчика Стивена Фрая Сергея Ильина я бы в названии книги вместо «и» поставила «но» – так больше фраевской категоричности и парадоксальности.
(с)Дедюхина Елена
Дата публикации: 12 июля 2007 г.
© «Книжная витрина», 2007.
http://www.top-kniga.ru/kv/review/det...
Авторские права защищены. Перепечатка и публикация материалов возможна только с разрешения редакции.
Елена Карп��с-Дедюхина
Рецензия на книгу "Неполная и окончательная история классической музыки"
автор: Стивен Фрай
Законченно, но не окончательно
Автор рецензии: Дедюхина Елена
Дата публикации: 12 июля 2007 г.
Это книга об истории музыки. Истории окончательной – не подлежащей пересмотру или отмене и неполной – не вполне законченной, не исчерпывающей. Здесь нет противоречия – во фраевской философии это вполне логично. Стивен Фрай не претендует на то, что его книга – научный труд, он изначально отдает предпочтение всему парадоксальному и сам является ярчайшим представителем «парадокса во плоти». Фрай пошел путем полного «размывания границ» между вымышленным автором и реально существующим. В подлиннике книга называется Stephen Fry’s Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music: As Told to Tim Lihoreau by Stephen Fry and Tim Lihoreau. Это Вам что-нибудь объясняет? Кто кому рассказал эту историю: Стивен Фрай Тиму Лигаро или Стивен Фрай и Тим Лигаро Стивену Фраю и Тиму Лигаро? А вот записал ее, понятное дело, Стивен Фрай. Со слов ли Тима Лигаро, как значится в переводе – это еще предстоит выяснить. Книга действительно рассказывает о зарождении вообще всякой музыки на заре становления человечества и о ее развитии в качестве именно классической музыки. Развитие это происходит усилиями всего человечества. Читателю придется многое додумывать и домысливать. Диктат автора – непременный атрибут успеха Фрая у своего читателя.
По собственному признанию, Стивен Фрай, как беременная слониха, чувствующая время наступающих родов, уединяется, и в скором времени на свет появляется новое литературное творение. Его издателям остается лишь мечтать о том времени, когда он уединится где-нибудь в Саванне на как можно больший срок, и родит как можно больше шедевров… Подобных этому.
Кто из нас, непрофессионалов в музыке, не проходивших предмет под загадочным названием «музлитература», имеет представление о том, как музыка развивалась на протяжении 700 лет? Считанные единицы. Для исправления этой несправедливости Стивен Фрай (а может, Тим Лигаро, используя литературное дарование друга) расскажут нам, какие этапы внутриутробного развития проходила музыка, как она появлялась на свет, как затем влияла на жизнь людей в прошлом и настоящем. Рассказано это будет с юмором и легкостью Фигаро. Его образ вполне уместен, ведь Моцарт – любимейший композитор автора.
«Вивальди, господин, в распоряжении коего имелось 400 концертов и Две Женщины, уже умер… Музыкальный мир обрел композитора… Карл Диттерс фон Диттерсдорф. Уж и не знаю, почему его родители не сэкономили на дорогостоящих чернилах и не назвали его, скажем: Карл Сникерс Чтоб ты Сдох. На самом-то деле много они не сэкономили бы, верно? – но полагаю, намек мой вы поняли…». Для тех, кто во враждебных отношениях с «чисто английским юмором», Стивен Фрай предусмотрительно расставил смайлики.
История заканчивается 2000-м годом. На дворе 2007-й. Назвав свою историю «окончательной», Стивен Фрай поступил неосмотрительно. На месте замечательного переводчика Стивена Фрая Сергея Ильина я бы в названии книги вместо «и» поставила «но» – так больше фраевской категоричности и парадоксальности.
(с)Дедюхина Елена
Дата публикации: 12 июля 2007 г.
© «Книжная витрина», 2007.
http://www.top-kniga.ru/kv/review/det...
Авторские права защищены. Перепечатка и публикация материалов возможна только с разрешения редакции.
January 2, 2018
I’ll give you the good news first: this is a remarkably accessible summary of the history of music. It is not snobbish, it is not purist, but it is a light, personal, and broad sweep of what is, let’s face it, an enormous subject.
Which is just as well since by his own admission Stephen Fry can barely hold a note — except for, perhaps, one of interest to passing wildlife — let alone play a musical instrument. Further, the pedant would insist that ‘Classical’ refers exclusively to music from the period between 1750 and 1850, while Fry includes everything, even modern movie scores and advertising jingles (who can forget the music for British Airways?).
Just so we’re clear, here are his musical eras.
Early: from 13,500 BC to AD 600 (how I wish he could have spent more time on the prehistory bit, but I suppose this properly belongs in an altogether different book)
Medieval: from AD 600 to 1450
Renaissance: from 1450 to 1600
Baroque: from 1600 to 1750
Classical: from 1750 to 1850
Early Romantic: from 1850 to 1890
Late Romantic: from 1890 to 1900
Modern: from 1900
These are of course arbitrary and quite blurry time-markers, but they serve as a rough guide. Many composers overlapped boundaries and some continued to produce music in the old style long after the deadline for the new era had lapsed.
All the main characters are covered: their circumstances, their foibles, their successes, their failures. Above all, the nature and personality of their music, from the listener’s perspective — for most of us, like Fry, ‘listening’ is more pertinent a vantage point than is ‘playing‘ — is explained with great humanness. Fry brings them alive; he makes them pertinent.
I came across Stephen Fry first when he was Lord (and General) Melchett, then the Duke of Wellington, in the Blackadder series. He was good with Hugh Lawrie in Fry and Laurie, and he was brilliant — a natural, even — as Oscar Wilde. More recently, he was the narrator in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie and he plays the Master of Lake-town in The Hobbit. He is an accomplished actor and, when the parts are written for him by the likes of Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, he can raise a laugh. Who wouldn’t be able to?
However, let me come to the bad news. It is disappointing that for a man who is so comfortable with what he is (gay) he should try so hard to be what he isn’t (funny). I got the impression that he saw himself as something of a cross between Bill Bryson, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams, but he ended up more like Spike Milligan on an off-day. It was inane, schoolboy-ish, and tiresome.
Perhaps that’s your kind of humour. Certainly, the purpose of the book, to present what can be a serious and academic matter with a gentle and deft touch, calls for humour, but I wish either that Fry had not tried so damned hard that it went beyond his limited talent, or that Classic FM had chosen someone else to do the job.
No matter. I was able to ignore this blight on an otherwise fine book for the most part, and I’m sure you would, too.
Which is just as well since by his own admission Stephen Fry can barely hold a note — except for, perhaps, one of interest to passing wildlife — let alone play a musical instrument. Further, the pedant would insist that ‘Classical’ refers exclusively to music from the period between 1750 and 1850, while Fry includes everything, even modern movie scores and advertising jingles (who can forget the music for British Airways?).
Just so we’re clear, here are his musical eras.
Early: from 13,500 BC to AD 600 (how I wish he could have spent more time on the prehistory bit, but I suppose this properly belongs in an altogether different book)
Medieval: from AD 600 to 1450
Renaissance: from 1450 to 1600
Baroque: from 1600 to 1750
Classical: from 1750 to 1850
Early Romantic: from 1850 to 1890
Late Romantic: from 1890 to 1900
Modern: from 1900
These are of course arbitrary and quite blurry time-markers, but they serve as a rough guide. Many composers overlapped boundaries and some continued to produce music in the old style long after the deadline for the new era had lapsed.
All the main characters are covered: their circumstances, their foibles, their successes, their failures. Above all, the nature and personality of their music, from the listener’s perspective — for most of us, like Fry, ‘listening’ is more pertinent a vantage point than is ‘playing‘ — is explained with great humanness. Fry brings them alive; he makes them pertinent.
I came across Stephen Fry first when he was Lord (and General) Melchett, then the Duke of Wellington, in the Blackadder series. He was good with Hugh Lawrie in Fry and Laurie, and he was brilliant — a natural, even — as Oscar Wilde. More recently, he was the narrator in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie and he plays the Master of Lake-town in The Hobbit. He is an accomplished actor and, when the parts are written for him by the likes of Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, he can raise a laugh. Who wouldn’t be able to?
However, let me come to the bad news. It is disappointing that for a man who is so comfortable with what he is (gay) he should try so hard to be what he isn’t (funny). I got the impression that he saw himself as something of a cross between Bill Bryson, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams, but he ended up more like Spike Milligan on an off-day. It was inane, schoolboy-ish, and tiresome.
Perhaps that’s your kind of humour. Certainly, the purpose of the book, to present what can be a serious and academic matter with a gentle and deft touch, calls for humour, but I wish either that Fry had not tried so damned hard that it went beyond his limited talent, or that Classic FM had chosen someone else to do the job.
No matter. I was able to ignore this blight on an otherwise fine book for the most part, and I’m sure you would, too.
July 10, 2018
Took a long time reading this, as it is very much a dip-in type book. An admittedly superficial yet informative corrective to different composers from year zero to early 21st century. Enjoyed, learned, and have a new list of recordings to seek out.
March 17, 2012
I'd like to love this book but, unfortunately, it suffers from a few drawbacks. Stephen Fry is wonderful, but he didn't write this book. A lot of the text is his, though, because it's lifted verbatim from the radio show. Only, with Stephen's own delivery, the text works a lot better in the radio show than in the book. So, if you can, try get a hold of the radio originals. The jokes work so much better when you hear Stephen tell them.
That's one problem. The humor looses much of it's effect when translated from the radio to the page. It's not totally unfunny, though.
Another problem is that the "Incomplete and Utter" has little to offer as a history book. It's too short to go into any detail about anything, so if you actually want to learn something, this is not a good book for that. Then again, if you already know enough about the subject to follow the pace the text takes through the centuries, why would you need to read it? Of course, the book is not meant to be an actual learning tool, but since it's not that funny either, it's hard to think of a target audience for this book.
For a funny historical text book, it's not that funny and not that historical. If you want to actually learn about music history, you need to read something else. If you already are a classical nerd, and just want to laugh at the jokes, you'll be better off with the original radio show, if you just can find it.
There is one use this book might be suited for, though. If you are a fan of classical music, and are searching for tips on where to go next, for someone to throw a bunch of names at you, this book might do that. It's full of quick mentions of Stephen's favorites, and if some of them are unfamiliar to you, you might want to check them out. And, granted, some of the jokes are a bit funny.
Three stars for the specific use of just mining it for listening tips, but two for any other use.
That's one problem. The humor looses much of it's effect when translated from the radio to the page. It's not totally unfunny, though.
Another problem is that the "Incomplete and Utter" has little to offer as a history book. It's too short to go into any detail about anything, so if you actually want to learn something, this is not a good book for that. Then again, if you already know enough about the subject to follow the pace the text takes through the centuries, why would you need to read it? Of course, the book is not meant to be an actual learning tool, but since it's not that funny either, it's hard to think of a target audience for this book.
For a funny historical text book, it's not that funny and not that historical. If you want to actually learn about music history, you need to read something else. If you already are a classical nerd, and just want to laugh at the jokes, you'll be better off with the original radio show, if you just can find it.
There is one use this book might be suited for, though. If you are a fan of classical music, and are searching for tips on where to go next, for someone to throw a bunch of names at you, this book might do that. It's full of quick mentions of Stephen's favorites, and if some of them are unfamiliar to you, you might want to check them out. And, granted, some of the jokes are a bit funny.
Three stars for the specific use of just mining it for listening tips, but two for any other use.
October 9, 2008
This book attempts to be a basic and humourous history of western Classical music from the year dot to practically the present day. It is based on a radio series that Steven Fry did for Classic FM a little while ago.
As I've said above, this is an attempt, and I don't think the book really achieves what it sets out to do. Yes its mildly funny in places, but the same tired jokes crop up over and over and over again. It is written very much in Steven Fry's style, but I guess the radio series might have been more entertaining as you could hear his voice as well.
Although the book doesn't claim to be comprehensive, it ends up being such a whistle-stop tour that every time you think it is going to get interesting, it veers off into the next decade (or something). Hardly anything is covered in any great depth (with the possible exception of his two favourite composers, Mozart and Wagner) so it didn't leave me feeling any wiser than I was before.
I think I may have read some of Steven Fry's fiction books, but this doesn't come anywhere near something that I might choose to recommend. Really awful.
As I've said above, this is an attempt, and I don't think the book really achieves what it sets out to do. Yes its mildly funny in places, but the same tired jokes crop up over and over and over again. It is written very much in Steven Fry's style, but I guess the radio series might have been more entertaining as you could hear his voice as well.
Although the book doesn't claim to be comprehensive, it ends up being such a whistle-stop tour that every time you think it is going to get interesting, it veers off into the next decade (or something). Hardly anything is covered in any great depth (with the possible exception of his two favourite composers, Mozart and Wagner) so it didn't leave me feeling any wiser than I was before.
I think I may have read some of Steven Fry's fiction books, but this doesn't come anywhere near something that I might choose to recommend. Really awful.
March 24, 2014
«Неполная и окончательная история классической музыки» — это увлекательное путешествие в мир звуков и нот: от зарождения музыки вообще и её дальнейшем развитии. Эту историю Фрай рассказывает с присущим ему блеском, неподражаемым юмором и заразительностью. А главное — знанием исторического контекста. В книге, помимо музыки, находится место всему сопутствующему: открытиям и изобретениям, войнам, литературе, деталям быта, анекдотам. Стивен Фрай, в поисках современных аналогий, может запросто сравнить Листа с Элтоном Джоном, а Берлиоза — с оркестром Джеймса Ласта. Великие имена в книге лишены всяческого академизма и предстают нормальными людьми с обычными слабостями, словно речь идёт о соседях. Иногда Фрай юморит так, что даже, на всякий случай, ставит после своих фраз «смайлики».
Между тем, миссия этой книги — очевидна. «Неполная и окончательная история классической музыки» совершенно меняет представление о том (по крайней мере моё, человека, к своему стыду, необразованному), что мы сейчас называем «классикой», помогает понять, разобраться, а главное — приглашает переслушать (или услышать впервые).
Между тем, миссия этой книги — очевидна. «Неполная и окончательная история классической музыки» совершенно меняет представление о том (по крайней мере моё, человека, к своему стыду, необразованному), что мы сейчас называем «классикой», помогает понять, разобраться, а главное — приглашает переслушать (или услышать впервые).
April 13, 2010
Igor Stravinsky provocatively said that Vivaldi had not written hundreds of concertos, but one concerto, repeated hundreds of times.
... катасрофически устаю от назойливого стёба Фрая! боюсь, эта книга будет дебютантом новой книжной полки "dropped" ...
I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland. -- Woody Allen
Домучил, если бы не на аудио и не такая интересная тема самой книги, то давно бы бросил. Дело вовсе не в том, что некоторые важные события и произведения опущены - всем не угодишь - но меня просто утомил непрекращающий стёб Фрая, за которымуже даже и юмора не видно.
... катасрофически устаю от назойливого стёба Фрая! боюсь, эта книга будет дебютантом новой книжной полки "dropped" ...
I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland. -- Woody Allen
Домучил, если бы не на аудио и не такая интересная тема самой книги, то давно бы бросил. Дело вовсе не в том, что некоторые важные события и произведения опущены - всем не угодишь - но меня просто утомил непрекращающий стёб Фрая, за которымуже даже и юмора не видно.
July 29, 2011
Oh, this was hard work. I was vastly disillusioned until I realised, thanks to an eagle-eyed reviewer below, STEPHEN FRY DID NOT WRITE THIS BOOK, it was the Classic FM guy. So it's a book loosely based on Stephen Fry's opinions of classical music, with which I largely, give or take, agreed.
What's with the Gilbert & Sullivan-bashing though? Given the book's penchant for highly artificial construction, truly awful puns and incessant 'witty' asides, I would have thought it was right up their street.
What's with the Gilbert & Sullivan-bashing though? Given the book's penchant for highly artificial construction, truly awful puns and incessant 'witty' asides, I would have thought it was right up their street.
October 30, 2011
I read this book, not because I am a fan of classical music, but rather a fan of Stephen Fry.
I don't actually dislike classical music, as such. I just have not ever really sat down and really listened to much of it. Having read this book now, however, I just might do that now. The one thing that I didn't like all that much about this books was its chatty nature. I don't mind humour and a narrative style but a lot of this books was rambling in nature. It could have benefited from some heavy editing and some reworking.
I don't actually dislike classical music, as such. I just have not ever really sat down and really listened to much of it. Having read this book now, however, I just might do that now. The one thing that I didn't like all that much about this books was its chatty nature. I don't mind humour and a narrative style but a lot of this books was rambling in nature. It could have benefited from some heavy editing and some reworking.
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