The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music

A jam-packed, 11-year undertaking of 928 pages, 1,500 entries, and over 1,000 recommended recordings, The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia is an everything-you-need-to-know bible for the classical music lover. Written with infectious enthusiasm by Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection , with 174,000 copies in print, this is an encyclopedia with wit and verve, covering those terms, works, composers, and performers that NPR listeners and concertgoers are most likely to encounter. In addition, buyers of the book will receive a password that opens the door to an interactive Web site, created in a partnership with the classical music powerhouse, Naxos, that allows them to listen to 600 examples of works, techniques, and performers discussed and cross-referenced in the book. This is the first interactive encyclopedia of music! Libbey, a spirited, selective guide, writes "lyrically and lucidly about music and music makers" ( Chicago Tribune ) and knows how to ground abstract ideas in the real. How does it work? Look up barcarolle, and he not only defines the term vividly ("the melody is a gentle, rocking rhythm suggestive of the swaying of a boat") but suggests three exemplary pieces of music to listen to-Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman , Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words , and Chopin's Barcarolle . Then go to the Web site and hear what he's writing about. What is the tonic? Why is there such a satisfying psychological impact at the end of a sonata? Who is Thomas Tallis? What is the idea behind Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier , and was there ever an ill-tempered clavier? For the music lover, impossible to put down.