No musical genre has had a more controversial critical history than the concerto, but has simultaneously retained as consistently prominent a place in the affections of the concert-going public. This volume is one of a very few to deal with the genre in its entirety. Setting the concerto in its musical and non-musical contexts, it examines the concertos that have made important contributions to musical culture, and reviews performance-related topics.
Editorial Reviews
Review
At the heart of this volume, one senses a kind of missionary zeal, a concerted effort (no pun intended) to take this particular genre out of academic limbo. Though perhaps the most popular musical form among great masses of music lovers, the concerto has often been dismissed by scholars as trivial, overly theatrical, ego driven, physical rather than intellectual. In this well-edited volume, Keefe provides a thorough, comprehensive antidote to such misconceptions. The volume explores every aspect of concerto history and literature, offering social and political contexts, stylistic comparisons, and a survey of major works (including structural analysis). The level of scholarship is high and perceptive comments abound. Highly recommended. Choice
Book Description
A rare volume dedicated entirely to scholarship on the genre of the concerto.
About the Author
Simon P. Keefe is Senior Lecturer in Music at City University London. He is the author of Mozart’s Piano Concerto’s: Dramatic Dialogue in the Age of Enlightenment (2001) and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Mozart (2003). He has recently published articles on Mozart and on eighteenth-century aesthetic and stylistic topics in Acta Musicologica, The Journal of Musicology, Music and Letters, The Music Quarterly, The Journal of Musicological Research and Mozart-Jahrbuch.
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