A Friend's Guide to Chamber Music: European Trends from Haydn to Shostakovich - Paperback

by Nancy Monsman (Author)

Traditionally, it's the music that speaks from the stage, not the

musicians themselves. By the beginning of the 20th century, the

concert hall and the music chamber were no longer regarded as

appropriate venues for loud conversing, heavy drinking, reckless

gambling, and high-society ogling. The concert, formerly regarded

as a means of light if elegant entertainment, had become a sacred

rite. Musicians and audience members alike were now expected to

sit down, shut up, and focus solely and worshipfully on the music.

If you were surprised or confused by the music, nobody could

help you--except the person who had written the explanatory

notes in the printed program you clutched in your hands.

Today, the atmosphere is a bit more casual, though thankfully

not the free-for-all it had been in the 18th century. Performers seem

more relaxed; their dress is often more laid-back, their body language

looser. And many of them are eager to say a few unscripted

words to the audience, especially if they are introducing unfamiliar

music.

Quite frequently now, an ensemble will arrive in Tucson for an

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music concert expecting to give some

introductory remarks about a new or unusual composition they're

about to play. Then they open the printed program, read Nancy

Monsman's notes, and realize that all the essential information is

already there. They end up telling a couple of amusing anecdotes

and urging that people learn more by reading, in their words, "the

excellent notes in your programs."

resources, and I have strong opinions about how notes should be

written. It is my strong opinion that Nancy Monsman's program

notes are models of clarity and concision, providing exactly the

information you need before the music takes over. When you're

seated in the concert hall, waiting for the downbeat, you don't have

much time to read up on what you're about to hear. There's no way

you could get through a chapter of cultural background on each

piece, followed by a detailed technical analysis. You need notes

that, in a very few paragraphs, can set the scene for the composer

and the composition, then provide just enough detail to help you

find your way through the music you are about to hear.

Nancy's notes provide exactly that sort of guide. And now we

are proud to present that guide in a format you can consult at your

leisure, and at your pleasure, particularly if you'd like on your own

to trace a composer's career more systematically than you can in a

single concert. Let this be your knowledgeable companion as you

explore the puzzles and delights of European chamber music.

JAMES REEL

President, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music