The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record

by J.B. Steane

Steane charts a way through the great mass of singing on record and follows the fortunes of "the grand tradition" over the first 70 years of the gramophone's history, including contemporary singers along with legendary singers from the past, song as well as opera, and a chapter on choral singing. The first edition (1974) is cited in BCL3 . This corrected edition includes a new preface and expanded bibliography. With 139 b&w photographs. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: Music

628 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Robert Hutley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have owned this book since the original publication of the first edition and now have the second edition with preface, edit and bibliography improvements. I used to meet the late John Steane at Ruislip Gramophone Society in the 80s. No one is his equal as a critic of the recorded singing voice. My only disappointment is that his planned second volume taking the wok from 1970 to 1990 did not materialise. This is essential reading for lovers of the recorded operatic voice. Superb!

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a special volume. Steane's coverage of recorded classical music in the first seventy years of the 20th century is unrivalled. From the singers to the works, from the technology to the brilliant ideas, this is something to treasure for a lifetime.