Haydnrsquo;s music has been performed continuously for more than two hundred years. But what do we play; and what do we listen to; when it comes to Haydn? Can we still appreciate the rich rhetorical nuances of this music; which from its earliest days was meant to be played by professionals and amateurs alike?With The Virtual Haydn; Tom Beghinmdash;himself a professional keyboard playermdash;delves deeply into eighteenth-century history and musicology to help us hear a properly complex Haydn. Unusually for a scholarly work; the book is presented in the first person; as Beghin takes us on what is clearly a very personal journey into the past. When a discussion of a group of Viennese sonatas; for example; leads him into an analysis of the contemporary interest in physiognomy; Beghin applies what he learns about the role of facial expressions during his own performance of the music. Elsewhere; he analyzes gesture and gender; changes in keyboard technology; and the role of amateurs in eighteenth-century musical culture.The resulting book is itself a fascinating; bravura performance; one that partakes of eighteenth-century idiosyncrasy while drawing on a panoply of twenty-first-century knowledge.
#2312534 in eBooks 2015-04-16 2015-04-16File Name: B00W9LU602
Review
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. An Unmissable Collection of Real LifeBy Robert W. GetzIts difficult to remember what rock criticism or cultural commentary was like before Greil Marcus which; I suppose; is another way of saying that the risks and innovations that have always marked his work have now become so much a part of our daily conversation that we accept and; indeed; expect any sort of criticism from Pitchfork to People to embrace his willingness to treat all culture as a vital and living continuum. The thrill of reading his long-running Real Life Rock Top Ten column has always been the sense of being allowed into the workshop and seeing how anything can become grist for his mill and; in some ways; the column may be a better example of the sort of democratization his writing always strives for than the books are. There is some repetition; an inevitable thing in over 30 years worth of work (the Bob Dylan material has already been collected in Marcus volume on the subject) and it may be safe to say that if you have no interest in Dylan; The Mekons; or Sleater-Kinney you may want to move along; but then you may want to avoid contemporary music altogether. I dont always agree with him (the same goes for the film critic David Thomson whose similarly exciting work shares some qualities with Marcus) and he can seem finicky at times; he has plenty of time for Jon Spencers Pussy Galore; for example; but none at all for Spencers Blues Explosion. But this is nitpicking when youre discussing a volume that rewards the reader regardless of where they happen to dip into it. A dazzling display from one of our most remarkable writers.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Uncle Greils Bathroom ReaderBy Kevin M. AntonioThis bathroom book for intellectuals collects Marcusrsquo;s Top Ten column from rsquo;86 -lsquo;14 from various magazines and websites. Recurring characters: Elvis; Dylan; Harry Smith; Robert Johnson; Pussy Galore (and Riot); the Sex Pistols andhellip; Counting Crows?!? (We all have our misguided pleasures). And tribute albumshellip; way too many tribute albums. Marcus has my sympathy for sitting through all of them. Yoursquo;re a better man than I; sir. He starts most of those reviews off with "Arent tribute albums terrible?" And we all know the answer to that.Also; since it is Marcus; you get a heaping helping of dada/performance art/whatever-it-is folderolhellip; the stuff you can skip over to get to the good parts.So; if youve got pockets of time to kill; this book is a good way to do it.4 of 6 people found the following review helpful. It used to go like that; now it goes like this: or; how I learned to stop worrying and have a laugh along with GreilBy Tiernan HenryOr; how to lose an afternoon.Pick any page and the lines jump right out - ridiculous lines; insightful one; really really funny ones - and theyre all infuriating: largely because they are so good. This is a really interesting collection of a really interesting idea - back in 1986 Marcus started writing lists that reflected what was going on with his listening; reading; viewing and with his life. Gradually other things started peeking in; or became visible around the edges and what we have now is a fascinating; distinctly personal alternate history of the last 30 or so years.This is the perfect book to dip in and out of; but damn; its hard to not read just one more of those short little pieces. Yesterday afternoon p110 sent me off to listen to Dylans mighty fine Good As I Been To You; and on the bus this morning my ipod rattled along withSonic Youth and the Vulgar Boatmen.Marcus isnt for everyone; but theres enough here to keep anyone interested and it really is a good way to pass some time.I was thinking about this last night and I think the first thing I read of his was his liner notes to The Basement Tapes. It took a while to get my hands on Mystery Train (and wouldnt you know when I finally did it was in Duluth; MN back in 1989 - as you do) and Ive tried to keep up with him as much as possible through the years. One really fine thing about this collection is how it shows Marcus relationships with music and art shifting and changing over the years; and theres hardly a finer history of Dylans musical renaissance than in these pages. He shows up early and often; in asides; in head scratching lines where Marcus is trying to figure out whats going on with Dylan and whats going on with his relationship with Dylan (as a listener). Is there a better summary of 1997s Time Out Of Mind than this (p159): "A Western. It starts with Clint Eastwoods face at the end of Unforgiven; then turns around and heads back east like bad weather"; or this (p267) from his take on Summer Days (from Love Theft): "...the singer shouts from inside a roadhouse where a Western Swing band is running a jitterbug beat as if its twirling a rope. On the dance floor women are flipping in the air and couples snap back at each other like towels in a locker room. The singer high-steps his way across the room; Stetson topping his Nudie suit. How much proof do you want that the night cant go wrong? "Why dont you break my heart one more time;" he says happily to the woman at his side; "just for good luck?" He stretches out the last word as if he cant bear to give it up."Damn you Marcus. Oh bloody hell; now Im blasting the live version from 2002 - Dylan and that band back in New York ripping the place apart.Order it; have your iPod ready; have your turntable ready; have strong drink close at hand and be ready to get lost for an afternoon. Or a weekend.Oh; no; look what he says on p486;.. I have to go; its Bikini Kill time.
