"The Danger of Music"

I read and reviewed a new book The Danger of Music and Other Anti-Utopian Essays by famed musicologist Richard Taruskin, and it was just published in the Music Educators Journal (part of MENC). The review is available on my Publications page, or there's a direct link available here.

I haven't compared my original review to the published version yet to see how much was edited, but reading the published version looks like what I remember writing. I could have written more had they given me the space, but my words were limited (to no more than 500 words). I might write some more on it this summer, as I think it's a fantastic collection of essays, but we'll have to see how my summer reading/writing/arranging/rehearsing/practicing/working schedule turns out.

Add this to your reading list. It's pretty inexpensive (about US$40 in hardcover). It's a good read, and can be read in chunks; don't let the 500 pages frighten you. You'll agree with some ideas, you'll disagree with others, but you'll have a great opportunity to go into one of the smartest minds in his field (and in all of music).

I've published a few other articles before (again, see my Publications page for examples), but this is the first review I've published. If you have any comments, please leave them below.

And because I care for and appreciate you, faithful readers, here's a link to a sample chapter from the book: "Only Time Will Cover the Taint" (via University of California Press).