About the Author

Michael Steinberg, musicologist, critic, teacher, chamber music coach, and narrator, is the program annotator of the San Francisco Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. He was music critic of The Boston Globe for twelve years. He lives in Edina, Minnesota.

Reviews

"A wide range of material--facts about the composers' lives, notable circumstances surrounding the first performances of the work--punctuate [Steinberg's] discussion of each work.... For the amateur with a musical background, this is a valuable and very interesting collection."--Library Journal
"Each concerto is discussed with impeccable scholarliness an detailed historical information, but above all, the style of the writing is unfailingly entertaining."--Maestro Andre Previn
"This collection of articles has a relaxed, easy charm that will most likely win over readers unfamiliar with the subject."--Publishers Weekly
"Nobody can draw a reader into appreciation of a piece of classical music quite like Michael Steinberg.... Steinberg combines magisterial authority of a musicologist with the deeply personal point of view of a novelist."--St. Petersburg Times
"The writing is often relaxed and virutuosic, and it always passes the acid test: after reading Steinberg's freshly considered thoughts on any piece, I immediately want to heari, or hear it again.... A few of the longer essays are almost short stories in themselves. Reading Michael Steinberg on music will definitley make you a better listener--it might even make some of us better, or at least humber, writers. More important, he'll remind you of what makes
great music great."--City, Rochester
"A wide range of material--facts about the composers' lives, notable circumstances surrounding the first performances of the work--punctuate [Steinberg's] discussion of each work.... For the amateur with a musical background, this is a valuable and very interesting collection."--Library Journal
"Each concerto is discussed with impeccable scholarliness an detailed historical information, but above all, the style of the writing is unfailingly entertaining."--Maestro Andre Previn
"This collection of articles has a relaxed, easy charm that will most likely win over readers unfamiliar with the subject."--Publishers Weekly
"Nobody can draw a reader into appreciation of a piece of classical music quite like Michael Steinberg.... Steinberg combines magisterial authority of a musicologist with the deeply personal point of view of a novelist."--St. Petersburg Times
"The writing is often relaxed and virutuosic, and it always passes the acid test: after reading Steinberg's freshly considered thoughts on any piece, I immediately want to heari, or hear it again.... A few of the longer essays are almost short stories in themselves. Reading Michael Steinberg on music will definitley make you a better listener--it might even make some of us better, or at least humber, writers. More important, he'll remind you of what makes
great music great."--City, Rochester
"In The Concerto, Michael Steinberg once again gives us essays on music that are love letters, overflowing with passion and intimate detail. What reader could fail to be seduced?"--Garrick Ohlsson
"Those who have already discovered how useful and engaging the earlier book is will be happy to know that their is more of the same here.... [Steinberg's] style is elegant and informative, his commentaries do not shy away from a serious analysis of the music.... He has vast knowledge of European culture, yet there is an all-American directness and pace to his writing. He wears his scholarship lightly and chooses well what information to impart to the reader.
His treatments are models of how program notes should be written for today's audiences, and it is wonderful to have them collected in so easily accessible a form."--Ted Libby, The Los Angeles Times
Book Review
"The Concerto: A Listener's Guide will send you running to the CD player....this lively, enthusiastic and detailed volume takes readers through more than 120 concertos, mainly for piano or violin and orchestra, but including works for cello, clarinet, oboe and horn. Steinberg is knowledgeable, literate and eloquent." --Frederic Koeppel, Commercial Appeal
"In The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, Michael Steinberg once again proves his mastery in translating music to word. In this volume, he presents an excellent and thorough discussion of concerto repertory, providing readers with comprehensive, enlightening information that will definetly enhance their appreciation of this musical form." --Yo-Yo Ma

"A wide range of material--facts about the composers' lives, notable circumstances surrounding the first performances of the work--punctuate [Steinberg's] discussion of each work.... For the amateur with a musical background, this is a valuable and very interesting collection."--Library Journal "Each concerto is discussed with impeccable scholarliness an detailed historical information, but above all, the style of the writing is unfailingly entertaining."--Maestro Andre Previn "This collection of articles has a relaxed, easy charm that will most likely win over readers unfamiliar with the subject."--Publishers Weekly "Nobody can draw a reader into appreciation of a piece of classical music quite like Michael Steinberg.... Steinberg combines magisterial authority of a musicologist with the deeply personal point of view of a novelist."--St. Petersburg Times "The writing is often relaxed and virutuosic, and it always passes the acid test: after reading Steinberg's freshly considered thoughts on any piece, I immediately want to heari, or hear it again.... A few of the longer essays are almost short stories in themselves. Reading Michael Steinberg on music will definitley make you a better listener--it might even make some of us better, or at least humber, writers. More important, he'll remind you of what makes great music great."--City, Rochester "A wide range of material--facts about the composers' lives, notable circumstances surrounding the first performances of the work--punctuate [Steinberg's] discussion of each work.... For the amateur with a musical background, this is a valuable and very interesting collection."--Library Journal "Each concerto is discussed with impeccable scholarliness an detailed historical information, but above all, the style of the writing is unfailingly entertaining."--Maestro Andre Previn "This collection of articles has a relaxed, easy charm that will most likely win over readers unfamiliar with the subject."--Publishers Weekly "Nobody can draw a reader into appreciation of a piece of classical music quite like Michael Steinberg.... Steinberg combines magisterial authority of a musicologist with the deeply personal point of view of a novelist."--St. Petersburg Times "The writing is often relaxed and virutuosic, and it always passes the acid test: after reading Steinberg's freshly considered thoughts on any piece, I immediately want to heari, or hear it again.... A few of the longer essays are almost short stories in themselves. Reading Michael Steinberg on music will definitley make you a better listener--it might even make some of us better, or at least humber, writers. More important, he'll remind you of what makes great music great."--City, Rochester "In The Concerto, Michael Steinberg once again gives us essays on music that are love letters, overflowing with passion and intimate detail. What reader could fail to be seduced?"--Garrick Ohlsson "Those who have already discovered how useful and engaging the earlier book is will be happy to know that their is more of the same here.... [Steinberg's] style is elegant and informative, his commentaries do not shy away from a serious analysis of the music.... He has vast knowledge of European culture, yet there is an all-American directness and pace to his writing. He wears his scholarship lightly and chooses well what information to impart to the reader. His treatments are models of how program notes should be written for today's audiences, and it is wonderful to have them collected in so easily accessible a form."--Ted Libby, The Los Angeles Times Book Review "The Concerto: A Listener's Guide will send you running to the CD player....this lively, enthusiastic and detailed volume takes readers through more than 120 concertos, mainly for piano or violin and orchestra, but including works for cello, clarinet, oboe and horn. Steinberg is knowledgeable, literate and eloquent." --Frederic Koeppel, Commercial Appeal "In The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, Michael Steinberg once again proves his mastery in translating music to word. In this volume, he presents an excellent and thorough discussion of concerto repertory, providing readers with comprehensive, enlightening information that will definetly enhance their appreciation of this musical form." --Yo-Yo Ma

A former music critic for the Boston Globe, Steinberg (The Symphony: A Reader's Guide) here gathers some 122 essays, some of which began as notes to programs given by the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra, among others. Now based in Edina, Minn., Steinberg generally focuses on the most-often played concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and other popular composers. Although this is not the book to open if you're looking for data on a rare item by the likes of Nikolai Miaskovsky or Vagn Holmboe, it is nevertheless a worthwhile introduction for readers shy of technical matters. Steinberg intersperses his essays with plenty of commentary about various concertos from musicians, who generally have more pertinent things to say than a good many musicologists. Although there are musical examples, they need not scare off readers who have never studied music. Inevitably, in a collection of articles such as this, there will be some painful omissions: thus, although Witold Lutoslawski's great Cello Concerto merits an article, none is devoted to his equally great Piano Concerto. Modern composers such as Henri Dutilleux, Bohuslav Martinu and Darius Milhaud are not discussed here, nor are there any entries about popular classical works such as Haydn's Cello Concertos. While this book not an all-inclusive or encyclopedic guide, this collection of articles has a relaxed, easy charm that will most likely win over readers unfamiliar with the subject. (Oct.)