Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall.

Classical Music in America: a History of Its Rise and Fall, by Joseph Horowitz. W. W. Norton (500 Fifth Ave., New York, NF 1010), 2005. 606 pp. $39.95.

This is a big book--a substantial account of concert music in the United States by an author who has written extensively on the subject.

Classical Music in America is organized into two parts. Book One, "Queen of the Arts," starts in mid-19th century with the influential Boston critic Timothy Dwight, who Horowitz believes "more than any other individual first defines what Americans meant by 'classical music.'" Horowitz uses Boston--and Henry Higginson's herculean efforts of developing the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the "sacralization" of Beethoven, and the more democractic New York, with its "sacralization" of opera--as differing models of American classical music, in what he believes is its most dynamic phase, the Gilded Age. Book Two, "Great Performances Decline and Fall," starts after World War I and discusses the rise of professional soloists, at the expense of American composers, "the new middle classes and midcult, and the confusions of today."

Horowitz states, and I concur, that this is the only book devoted exclusively to the subject, because the many books on American music typically discuss all aspects of musical culture. While Horowitz concentrates on orchestras, there is a great deal of information about opera houses, managers, patrons and critics. He praises the musical scene of a century too when new compositions created real excitement and laments that the much anticipated American Beethoven didn't appear. He praises Theodore Thomas, Anton Seidel, Serge Koussevitsky and Leopold Stowkowski for championing new music. He scolds most of the other conductors, especially Toscanini, for concentrating on German works. And he worries about changing audiences, the blurring of classical and pop culture and the lack of composer/performers leading to the cult of performance over the creative act. He does see hope for the future in the persons of composer/performers William Bolcom, Philip Glass and John Adams.

This is not a quick read, but it is a valuable read for audiences, musicians and those behind the scenes. It should be required reading for American music courses ... and did you know that Koussevitsky hired Nicholas Slonimsky to play new scores for him, as he wasn't the greatest score-reader? Reviewed by Wesley True, NCTM, Warrensburg, Missouri.