Harris, head of variety programming for CBS radio, tries hard- -with very iffy results—to provide unsophisticated listeners with an in-depth introduction to Mozart's life and work. After some predictable opening remarks about Mozart's genius and personality (a ``titan charming the gods''), Harris leaps right into matters of musical theory: the basics of rhythm, meter, melody, harmony; the sonata-allegro form as exemplified by Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; close-textual score-reading. (``Do you see that C sharp that sneaks in at the end of bar 21 in the first violin part?'') Most nonmusicians will be lost, even if they listen (as directed) to a recording while reading. Consistently, in fact, Harris mixes overdemanding musicology with a patronizing tone as he offers close-ups of a half-dozen major instrumental works: ``Don't be frightened by a large work like a concerto....Think of this opening to the piece as if it were the opening to a TV mini- series.'' The detailed discussions of the great operas—Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Magic Flute—are less technical and more involving, though not particularly fresh or forceful. And the chunks of biography scattered throughout are modestly entertaining and informative, if occasionally simplistic and graceless. (Gratuitously, one of Mozart's most graphic scatological letters is quoted in full.) With, as an appendix, brief appreciations of Harris's ``personal selection of Mozart's Top Fifty works'': an only sporadically effective music-appreciation class—often too dense for beginners, too spoon-fed for serious music-lovers.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-671-75092-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1992
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
