Classical Listening: Two Decades of Reviews from The American Record Guide

The classical record business gained a new lease on life in the 1980s when period instrument performances of baroque and classical music began to assume a place on the stage. This return to the past found its complement in the musical ascension of the American minimalists, in particular the music of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and John Adams, and smaller specialty labels that focused on experimental composers like John Cage. During this period of change—of classical music’s transition of looking both forward and back—Rob Haskins served as a reviewer for The American Record Guide, tracing these evolutions while also attending to works emerging from within the mainstream of classical music performance and composition. Classical Listening: Two Decades of Reviews of Reviews from The American Record Guide collects the several hundred reviews produced since Rob Haskins’s start in the mid-1990s. A performer and musicologist, Haskins writes delightful, cogent reviews that unapologetically reflect his personal experience, musical interests, and professional background, emphasizing the value of subjectivity in music criticism. Witty, provocative, and eloquent, Haskins’s book reads like a diary of personal experience even as it addresses important topics as diverse as historical performance practice and the aesthetics of contemporary music. It is also a perfect guide to buying or listening for the classical music devotee seeking an informed opinion on the breadth of remarkable recordings available. Record collectors, students and scholars of early and contemporary music, and performers, professionals, and general music lovers will find this collection an invaluable resource as they trace the reception of recordings in the last twenty years of classical music performance.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part 1: J. S. Bach and Other Early Music Chapter 1: Bach Chapter 2: Other Early Music Part 2: John Cage and Other New Music Chapter 3: Cage Chapter 4: Minimalists Chapter 5: Other New Music Index

About the Author :
Rob Haskins, musicologist and performer, is associate professor of music at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of John Cage (2012) and has recorded two CDs for Mode Records, John Cage’s Two2 with pianist Laurel Karlik Sheehan and Marc Chan’s My Wounded Head 3.

Review :
Haskins is an engaging writer. The reviews are reflective of his personal musical experience and interests as they trace the reception of classical music recordings over the past two decades. Many of his reviews have the feel of a diary, revealing Haskins’ approach to historical performance practice and the aesthetics of contemporary music while providing a critique of the merits of each performance. . . .[T]his book is valuable as an overview of twenty years of publication and public reception of recordings in these categories. . . .Researchers...may find this book a useful addition to their personal libraries. This collection of Rob Haskins's CD reviews from the American Record Guide was difficult to get through. These reviews, which are informative, written with amiable energy, and clearly reveal their underlying musical values, had me putting the book down after about every two or three reviews and heading to my computer to hear a sample of what he had just praised ... In the essential role of critic as advocate, Haskins makes everything that matters to him interesting and attractive to the reader.... Haskins is experienced and informed.... One of his academic specialties is 20th Century American music.... These reviews are fascinating to read just from the standpoint of his experience, which adds a foundation of specific and meaningful details to the standard evaluation of expressive and performing choices.... Technical skill, historical understanding, and an imagination true to the nature of the music makes for excitement and satisfaction. A distinct voice—generous, personal, both open-minded and highly specific. It is a pleasure not knowing what Rob Haskins will say next, to follow his elegant thought processes wherever they may lead. Filled with many provocative insights and charming anecdotes, Rob Haskins' book of collected reviews, Classical Listening was a total joy to read. Haskins writes very intelligently, informing the reader of historical context while showing a deep understanding of both musical and performance issues. An incredibly thorough volume that manages to be both scholarly in detail and engaging as a fascinating read for any music lover—indispensable and hard to put down.