The Symphonic Repertoire, Volume III Part a: The European Symphony from Ca. 1800 to Ca. 1930: Germany and the Nordic Countries

List of Plates
List of Tables
Preface to the Series
Preface to Volume III
Postscript
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Orchestral Instrumentation
Identification of the Works

A. Peter Brown (1943-2003) joined the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1974 and was professor of musicology and department chair at the time of his death. The author of more than 80 published articles and reviews, Brown was especially known for his scholarship on Joseph Haydn.

When complete, this series will be the most exhaustive study available of the symphony in the Western tradition. This release shares with its predecessors (v. 2, CH, Apr'03, 40-4510; v. 4, CH, Mar'04, 41-3953; v.3, part B, CH, Sep'08, 46-0179) a brilliance of detail. Like the earlier releases, this volume provides complete analyses of each symphony, details of first performances, and rich bibliographic resources. Moreover, Brown (who died before part B of this volume was complete) discusses formal and technical detail in a comparative way, placing each work in the context not only of its composer, but of time and place. Examining areas of compositional creativity other than Vienna (volumes 2 and 4 concern the rich Viennese tradition), Brown analyzes the works of Franz Berwald, Joachim Raff, Mikhail Glinka and other relative unknowns and also calls attention to the influence of Mendelssohn (as mentor) and Rachmaninoff (as contrapuntalist). Written with wry good humor, this scholarly volume uncovers a rich world of previously under-appreciated masterpieces. Serious students of music--whether student, performer, conductor, or avid listener--will find this latest volume in this masterful series both informative and readable. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.M. Neil, Augustana College (IL), Choice, November 2008--M. Neil, Augustana College (IL)"Choice" (01/01/2008)