Classical (American Popular Music) - Hardcover

Part of the eight-volume set American Popular Music, this volume on classical music focuses on the distinctively American branch of this originally European form. Beginning with Antonin Dvorak, the Czech composer who encouraged American musicians to look to their own roots for rhythms and melodies, the U.S. has developed a classical sense interdependent with but unique from its European counterpart. Listed alphabetically, the approximately 400 entries are principally of four types: short biographies of individuals (e.g., Copland, Aaron; Ma, Yo-Yo; Sills, Beverly); entries profiling orchestras and performing groups (Cleveland Orchestra, Juilliard String Quartet); articles on institutions such as concert halls (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center) and music schools (Juilliard School, National Conservatory of Music); and significant compositions (Appalachian Spring, Rhapsody in Blue). An attempt was made to treat only American entities, but some Europeans make it in--Dvorak being a good example--by dint of their influence on American music and musicians. Any significant musician who, though foreign born, emigrated to the U.S and took citizenship is also included.

Entries are easy to read, with cross-references noted in the body of the entry in small capitals. Articles run from a third of a column to several pages. The weighting is sound, with more prominent and influential musicians, schools, or pieces of music receiving longer treatments. The front matter is particularly helpful for the novice researcher, as an "About This Book" section outlines not only the criteria for inclusion but gives definitions of major music forms (e.g., symphony, concerto, sonata) and types of performing groups (chamber orchestra, soloist, opera company). The lengthy introduction is dry but informative, giving ample background on the evolution of American classical music from the church music of the late seventeenth century to modern times. The volume concludes with an index, bibliography, glossary, chronology, and discography.

Suitable for novices, this reference work is accessible to students from the high-school level on up. Universities may prefer John Warthen Strubel's The History of American Classical Music: MacDowell through Minimalism (Facts On File, 1995) for greater detail and analysis, and most college libraries would probably benefit from purchasing the entire set of which this is a volume, though the classical music title stands alone well. Ann Welton
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