SUGGESTED READING LIST
***In Association with Amazon.com***
This list of reading materials is not intended to
be an exhaustive survey of the literature but to get the "unwashed"
or the "somewhat washed" better acquainted with the composer and artists
featured in this issue, and to provide a starting point, or some guide posts if
you will, for a journey into the world of classical music. 
CLICK
ON AUTHOR, TITLE (where underscored), OR COVER ART TO BUY THE BOOK OR TO CHECK
ON ITS AVAILABLITY
I. On Classical Music & Opera
1. Theodore
Baker, ed.,Pocket Manual of Musical Terms, (5th edition); Schirmer
Books, N.Y. (1995); 341pp. (Gives over 5,000
definitions of musical terms and brief biographies of over one thousand composers
and performers. A pocket-handy reference for both the culturally washed and unwashed.).
2. Eric
Bentley, ed.,Shaw on Music. A selection from the Music Criticism
of Bernard Shaw; Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden City, NY (1955); 307pp.
(Shaw - the best music critic that ever lived; his writings
are always a pleasure to read even if one does not always agree with what he has
to say. Would that all music critics wrote half as well as he did. See also I.3,
I.8 and II.8 below.)
3. Matthew
Boyden, Opera The Rough Guide. Rough Guides Ltd., London. (1997);
672pp. Extensive coverage, includes
synopses, historical notes and anecdotes, some biographies, and commentaries -
subjective, of course! - on CD recordings. A handy reference.
4.Louis
Crompton, ed. Bernard Shaw: The Great Composers: Reviews and Bombardments;
University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles,CA (1978); 387pp.
5.Phil
Goulding, Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000
Greatest Works; Fawcett Columbine (1992); 633pp. (Goulding
is living proof that it is never too late to learn and love opera and classical
music. A former Assistant Secretary of Defense who claims to have been a "musical
know-nothing" for most of his adult life, he embarked on a "musical
journey" at age 64 and has become "addicted" ever since. He shares
his knowledge, opinions and musical experiences in this and the following book
, both of which are funny, entertaining and very informative.)
6. Phil
Goulding, Ticket to the Opera: Discovering and Exploring 100 Famous
works, History, Lore and Singers, with Recommended Recordings; Fawcett
Columbine, Ballantine Books. NY. (1996); 689pp.
7. Martha
HART, The Art of Making Opera,
a fascinating photodocumentary by San Diego-based photographer Martha L. Hart
takes you behind the scenes with over 350 B&W shots of San Diego Opera productions.
8.David
Littlejohn, The Ultimate Art: Essays Around and About Opera; University
of California Press, CA. (1992); 303pp.
(A most enjoyable book, erudite without the pomposity that usually accompanies
erudition. Also available in paperback.)
9. Carol
Plantamura, The Opera Lover's Guide to Europe; Carol Publishing,
Citadel Press, Secaucus, NY (1996), 338pp. (Everything
you wanted to know about opera is a fitting subtitle; a fun book and a must-have,
even if you're not going to Europe any time soon.)
10. Fred
Plotkin, Opera 101. A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera;
Hyperion, NY.(1994); 494pp.
11. Bernard
Shaw, How to Become a Musical Critic (Dan H. Laurence, Ed.);
Hill and Wang, NY (1961); 359 pp.
12. Jack
Sullivan, ed. Words on Music. From Addison to Barzun; Ohio University
Press, Athens OH (1990), 438pp. (A
wonderful selection of writings on music by celebrated men and women from both
past and present.)
II. On Wagner and The Ring
1. Herbert
Barth, Dietrich Mack and Egon Voss. Wagner A Documentary Study;
Oxford University Press, NY (1975), 256pp.
2. John
Culshaw, Reflections on Wagner's Ring; Viking press, NY (1976),
105pp.
3.John
Culshaw, Ring Resounding. Account of the First Recording of Wagner's
Ring; Viking Press, NY (1976), 276pp.
4. J.K.
Holman, Wagner's Ring: A listener's Companion and Concordance.
Amadeus Press, OR. (1996), 440pp. (A
MUST for Ring devotees; fans of traditional ring productions such as the MET's
will love this book written by a banker who is also an ardent music lover.)
5. Joseph
Horowitz, Wagner Nights.An American History; University of California
Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles (1994), 389pp.
6. Hans Meyer, Richard Wagner in Bayreuth;
Rizzoli, NY(1976), 248pp.
7. Ernest
Newman, The Wagner Operas; Knopf, NY (1949), 724pp. (THE
book on Richard Wagner.)
8. Charles
Osborne, The World Theatre of Wagner; Macmillan Publishing Co,
Inc., NY (1982), 224 pp. (This
book by a poet and one of the world's foremost authorities on opera celebrates
150 years of Wagner opera productions. It contains exceptional photographs and
distinguished commentary.)
9. George
Bernard Shaw, The Perfect Wagnerite; A Commentary on the Nibelung's
Ring. (first published 1898); Dover Publications, N.Y. (1967), 136pp. (The
Ring interpreted with a Socialist twist.)
10. Frederic
Spotts, Bayreuth A History of the Wagner Festival; Yale University
Press, New Haven & London (1994), 334pp.
III. On Hildegard Behrens
1. Alan Blyth, "Hildegard Behrens,"
Opera (May 1991), pp. 502-508.
2. Della Couling, "Leading Lady," Opera Now (January/February
1997).
3. Helena
Matheopoulos, Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Art;
Northeastern University Press, Boston (1992), 333pp.
4.Barry Paris, "The Force: The Kinetic Art of Hildegard Behrens."
Opera News, Vol.61, No.14 (April 5, 1997), pp.8-14.
IV. On Mstislav Rostropovich
1.John Allison, "Rostropovich: The
Russian Muse," BBC Music Magazine (October 1996) p.28.
2. Eugene Drucker, "Recording with Rostropovich: Learning to Let the
Music Speak," Strings (July/August 1993), p.56.
3. Joshua Koestenbaum, "Recording with Rostropovich: Accompanying
a Musical Hero," Strings (July/August 1993), p.59.
4. Helena
Matheopoulos, Maestro: Encounters with Conductors of Today;
Harper and Row, NY (1982), 536pp.
5. "Slava: World Ambassador of Great Music," Classic CD (June
1997), p.34.