下面转贴是比较中肯的内容简介.我认为书中引人入胜的是歌剧和戏曲的章节.这章从歌剧的起源与发展直到到当代歌剧,各阶段风格和手法和最优秀的作品都有介绍;

当歌剧发展到19世纪时,瓦格纳确实是糖老鸭扒窗户------露了一小脸;作者肯定瓦格纳将歌剧交响化贡献的同时,毫不掩饰地表示了不屑: 瓦格纳是现实主义歌剧吗? 不是,类似选材有Gluck在前;瓦格纳在各项艺术领域都达到高峰吗? 不是! 音乐较强,其他都弱; 作者以学者的洞察力人为: 瓦格纳的歌剧硬塞进去一些nosense的所谓"哲学道德"之类的东西;并用Verdi的歌剧比较说,虽然Verdi的歌剧没这些确令人感动;......是强权,使他的雍长的歌剧在歌剧院上演.....

而在瓦格纳之后的30年,是拨乱反正的30年, 歌剧再次走到本应该的轨道上来...

(zt)THIS IS A BOOK FOR PEOPLE AT ALL LEVELS - LAYMAN, COMPOSER, OR ADVANCED MUSIC LOVER. "Why should one have to learn or need guidance on how to listen to what one is hearing?" is the question that William Schuman asks in his Preface. "The answer is simple. Listening to music is a skill that is acquired through experience and learning. Knowledge enhances enjoyment." What makes What to Listen for in Music so invaluable is that it is the ONLY book on musical appreciation written by a GREAT COMPOSER. "This is a composer's book," Aaron Copland states. "Given the chance, every composer would like to know two very important things about anyone who takes himself seriously as a music lover...1. Are you hearing everything that is going on? [and] 2. Are you really being sensitive to it?" The only shortcoming of this book is that it should be taken as part of a class to make sure that one gets everything out of it. It would be great if it came with a CD of all the examples to which Copland makes reference. However, each chapter does end with a list of "recommended listening." To make specific points, Copland does include sheet music (but I didn't read this book sitting next to my piano). However, these problems are minimal, considering we live in an age of the cheap CDs and music downloads. Copland covers EVERY aspect of music, starting with "how we listen," - on the sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane. He then goes on to explain to us the Four Elements of Music - Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, and Tone Color. We find out about all the musical instruments, their history and classifications. We find out about all the genres in music - Sectional Form, Variation Form, Fugal Form, Sonata Form, Free Form. Did you know that Sonata Form includes symphonies as well? And that symphonies grew out of operatic overtures? This is a book that bears re-reading. A lot of technical jargon gets bandied about and, although Copland does his best to explain it all, it still gets a tad confusing. I advise reading this book, listening to a LOT of music, and then reading it again. I know my own knowledge and appreciation of music has grown from reading it. Now I DO have an idea of the nuances I should be listening for in a Mozart piano concerto.