Infinite Variety of Music

Bernstein was a great teacher, and along with his tremendous knowledge of Music he conveys a great enthusiasm for it. He says early on that reading music is a vital skill, and should be a part of the education of everyone. He says that the ability to play a piece oneself is to understand the music in a way one cannot simply by hearing it. A number of these chapters are transcripts of five television talks he did. Bernstein shows the way Music's complexity is built up from simple elements. He takes a subject like 'rhythm' and gives a whole host of musical illustrations. These will be very helpful to those who can read the music as at least half the text of the book is the notes of the music. Speaking more generally Bernstein advocates a new development in American music. He wonders why the music written over the past half- century has not entered the concert hall in a true way. He notes that Classical music was primarily contemporary music, and educated audiences had enthusiasm for the latest things. He wishes to get to something like that in American music. There are many insights given along the way about music by Bernstein. And these make the book a valuable one.