From the history of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's lifework to the modern contemporary tale of Bernstein's perilous journey as a conductor, classical music is rarely just a musical affair and much more can be garnered from its rich implications on our world history.
Here are the top 3 books about classical music published in 2023 that tackle the vivid stories of influential entities within the classical sphere, providing the necessary context and history behind the symphonies you hear in concert halls.
Refiner's Fire: The Academy of Ancient Music and the Historical Performance Revolution
Written by Richard Bratby, "Refiner's Fire" provides a gripping account of how the UK ensemble, the Academy of Ancient Music, rose to become a prestigious institution as a globally-known champion of classical music.
Bratby chronicles not only the five-decade history of a renowned orchestra but also underlines the movement started by Christopher Hogwood and Peter Wadland that permanently changed the art and business of recording classical music through their efforts to be the first ensemble in Britain to record period-accurate Baroque and Classical music.
Music of Exile: The Untold Story of the Composers Who Fled Hitler
In the "Music of Exile," Michael Haas brilliantly recounts the gripping stories of composers and musicians in the 1930s that escaped from the Nazis, delving into their lives in unfamiliar countries and the conflicts that arose from being displaced.
Haas sensitively explores the healing that alienated wartime musicians like Kurt Weill and Erich Wolfgang Korngold sought out through music and how they stumbled upon a unique blend of old and new cultures; some becoming the core pillars of today's standards in classical music and some being relegated to the mundanity of life.
Speaking Musically: Great Artists in Conversation at the Royal Academy of Music
Raymond Holden, and his colleagues in the Royal Academy of Music, bring forth an introspective collection of conversations with established instrumentalists, conductors, and singers through "Speaking Musically."
The book is a compendium of 40 interviews touching upon various topics relevant to the world of classical music like building a career; or the personal insights of musicians like Charles Mackerras on Janáček, Humphrey Burton on Menuhin, Tony Palmer on Britten, and Gwyneth Jones on Wagner.
