Reviews for The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815

The average rating for The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-06-11 00:00:00 Russell Dossie Jr A beautifully written book. Don't let the niche subject and seemingly dry primary-source driven research fool you, this book is expertly written and as much of a page-turner as this kind of book can get. An expert weaving of orchestral and instrumental detail, dry statistics, narrative asides, humor, and historical context while always maintaining an academic even-handedness and sense of momentum. Even if you can't tell a viola de gamba from a hautbois, you'll probably find something interesting in here (if you care to invest the time, the book is massive!)

Review # 2 was written on 2019-03-21 00:00:00 Jeffrey Drummond For the type of person that loves to argue about the artistic merit of various bands and artists, this book will be adored. While I spent many hours fuming over some of the highly biased cage match victors (come on, Marilyn Manson is in no way more talented than Trent Reznor), this book is highly entertaining and worth checking out, if only to read the particular essays of bands you know or care about.