Tim Page on Music : Views and Reviews

Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books I've read in a while...
Review: I've been gaining a greater appreciation for classical music over the last year or two, so this book could not have come at a better time for me. I first heard of Tim Page back in September, when I heard his 1982 Glenn Gould interview on the bonus disc of the new "State of Wonder" CD, which brings together Gould's 1955 and 1981 recordings of Bach's "Goldberg Variations." While that interview sounded a bit awkward and overly pre-planned, it did reveal some wonderful things about Gould the performer and music fan. I decided to find out more about Mr. Page.

This book is what I discovered, and boy am I glad I did. I covers a variety of writings by Page, mostly about classical music, some of them essays, some concert reviews. I loved his chapter on Sibelius -- it made me drag out my hardly-ever-played copy of Symphony #4 and gain a huge appreciation for it. His chapter on Messiaen made me a Messiaen fan. His article on Kevin Oldham, the composer who contracted AIDS, was deeply moving. He may not have won any conservative classical fans with his candid observations about Vladimir Horowitz, but I for one appreciated the dissenting view. I loved the chapter "Radical Music That Will Remain That Way." With all the corny how-to guides to "accessible" classical music, it was nice to see somebody write about the hard stuff.

Page doesn't stop with just classical music. He also expresses a love for rock music, albeit the more daring and exciting of the genre. He writes about Captain Beefheart, Magnetic Fields, Frank Sinatra and the High Llamas, among others. In his mind (as it should be), non-classical music shouldn't be looked down on by classical fans -- unless it's the paint-by-numbers stuff that you hear so much on the radio. Page acknowledges true originals, regardless of their musical leanings.

I could go on and on. There's so much about this book to love. Anyone with a budding interest in classical music who would like to expand their horizons would gain much from reading this book.

Thank you, Tim Page.