One place to find answers is The Gramophone ClassicalMusicGuide 2010 (Omnibus Press). Following Jeremy Nichols’ insightfulintroductory essay, “1000 Years of Music,” the Guide becomes an encyclopedia of composers, from the 18th-centuryGerman Carl Friedrich Abel to the 20th century Austrian Alexander Zemlinksy.
The descriptions of each composer are crisp and lucid andinclude recommended recordings (complete with catalog numbers) of the works inquestion. Following the lexicon of composers come similar, alphabeticalsections on conductors, instrumentalists, singers and ensembles. No merecompendium of dry facts, the GramophoneGuide is fun to read for its critical insights into the music and itsperformers. It would be even more fun if the typeface was larger, but in thatcase the Guide would run to several volumes.
Discovering the Classics
The Gramophone Guide
