A review of The Ultimate Classic FM Hall of Fame
Back in the days when an album was something in which you stuck your stamps, a track was the place for my clockwork train and a stylus was not something with which to write, least of all on a tablet – my parents had a record player. It was not a music center or a deck in a separates system – it was a record player. My father had built a wooden unit to house it and run cables beneath the floorboards to the speakers. Housed in the cabinet below the player were all the records. A few of them were soundtracks from the musicals, but most were classical recordings. Buying them was an experience all of its own. Once selected, a record could be taken to the counter, whereupon the sales assistant would slide it from the sleeve and indicate a numbered booth where it could be heard before deciding whether or not to buy it. The net result of all this is that I grew up with people like Dvorak, Beethoven and Mozart playing in the background somewhere – along with a small smattering of Oklahoma!
I came to this book as someone not afraid of classical music, but not well versed in it either. Not only that, but with 300 entries, I was bound to encounter people of whom (or from whom) I had not heard. I was not disappointed. The 300 includes everything from early baroque to 21st Century film scores and even music composed especially for video games. Each composer is introduced with a short biographical piece, and information is given about the particular items from their oeuvre which follow. For the aficionados there is even advice on the best recordings to select. Having said that, this is not really a book for aficionados. Its bright, almost childlike, cover will not attract the serious musical scholar. This book is an introduction, a lever to prize open a narrow view of classical music and reveal the treasures within.
I have been relishing the contents of the treasure chest ever since the book arrived. With its gorgeous illustrations and high quality paper it is a tactile as well as an intellectual treat. However, I have not done this alone. Perched on the page of the open book below is my phone – not a combination of which I would usually approve. Read on…
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I have read the book with the help of Composed, a relative newcomer to the apps market. Using the app, I have been able to listen to each piece of music as I have read about it. The book’s description, for example. of Smetena’s ‘beautiful, evocative musical painting of the rolling river’ makes so much more sense when listening to his Ma Vlast. In this way, book and app become a shared gateway to a rich multi-media experience, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The app is as easy to use and as attractive as the book itself. Like notes perfectly placed, they work in harmony together.
Click here to read more about the book from publisher Elliott and Thompson. Better still, click somewhere to buy it right now and let the notes wash over you. Then again, I should probably declare a bias- I cannot resist a Note.
