Declassified: A Low-Key Guide to the High-Strung World of Classical Music (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780593331460)

"A refreshingly fun guide" that reads "as if you're a fly on the wall in conservatory auditions, cutthroat competitions and the obsessive practice routines of professional musicians." (The New York Times)

Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch's life-long fascination with classical music has taken her through Juilliard and into the shiny world of symphony halls and international concert tours. She's loved classical music her whole life. But she's also hated classical music her whole life. After all, if you can like Beyoncé without liking Bieber, you can certainly like Brahms without liking Bach--especially since they were born 148 years apart and the thing we call "classical music" is really just centuries of compositions shoved into one hodge-podge of a genre.

In Declassified, Warsaw-Fan Rauch blows through the cobwebs of elitism and exclusion and invites everyone to love and hate this music as much as she does. She offers a backstage tour of the industry and equips you for every listening scenario, covering: the 7 main compositional periods (even the soul-crushingly depressing Medieval period), a breakdown of the instruments and their associated personality types (apologies to violists and conductors), what it's like to be a musician at the highest level (it's hard), how to steal a Stradivarius (and make no money in the process), and when to clap during a live performance (also: when not to). Declassified cheekily demystifies the world of High Art while making the case that classical music matters, perhaps now more than ever.

Author: Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch
ISBN-10: 059333146X
ISBN-13: 9780593331460
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Language: English
Published: 10/11/2022
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.93lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.80w x 1.40d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/04/2022
Library Journal 07/01/2022 pg. 67
Booklist 09/15/2022 pg. 9