41 books like Allegro

Mo Williams has hit all the right notes in this lushly illustrated book for young readers. How does one grow up to be a classical musician? Well… one beautiful moment leads to another…and another…and another.

Just as in this book, one magical experience in my young life changed everything. Because my 4th grade teacher took our class to see the original Disney Fantasia film, I heard, for the first time, the sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Shadows of violin bows danced across the panoramic movie screen as the musicians, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, performed Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Because of how that moment sounded and felt, I found my calling ̶ the violin. That’s how it happens. One precious musical moment leads to another, to places you never dreamed you would go.

Not only is Itzhak Perlman considered to be one of the world’s best violinists, he’s also a powerful role model for overcoming adversity.

Growing up, when I listened to Itzhak Perlman’s recordings, I didn’t know that as a young boy, he suffered from polio. So, when I saw him perform for the first time, I didn’t expect to see him enter the stage in a wheelchair. As I marveled at the silvery tone of his violin, I wondered how he navigated through concert halls designed without the physically disabled in mind.

What I love most about this book is that it drives home an important point. Itzhak’s fiery passion for the violin has never been compromised by his disability.

The author and illustrator's notes explain the importance of the changes Itzhak has made to the field of classical music. In Itzhak’s own words, he explains how and why he has… show more.

Listen to the Birds is part of the series An Introduction to Classical Music. Author Ana Gerhard chooses a different theme for each book and then puts together a collection of songs by various composers which is related to that theme. What a great idea! The included CD only gives you excerpts from the pieces, but that is probably because it is meant as an “intro” to classical music for a younger audience with a shorter attention span. I would recommend despite this downside, since further listening can always be done separately from the book if the readers are interested to hear more.

This engaging book introduces classical music to children in an interactive and brilliant way. By providing readers with hilarious stories about musicians, composers, and conductors while introducing instruments, composers, and musical pieces, the children become exposed to history and the classical music world. Readers also have access to musical examples through audio tracks provided in the book. I introduced my young cousin to classical music with this book, and he became fascinated with the cello and ultimately joined his school orchestra.

I found that this sometimes funny but always emotional and moving account of Ms. Kirkland's life as a ballerina in New York City to be a real triumph. She brings to the pages an honesty that is rarely seen, even in autobiographies. From the illegal drug scene that nearly killed her to the everyday trials of an immensely talented dancer caught between two worlds, this is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Intense and intricate with complex human interactions subjected to the forces of history and destiny, Canone Inverso is both literary fiction and mystery. This gripping tale of evolving relationships centers around the field of classical music and a particular violin. With the setting in Germany, Austria, and Hungary during the turbulent 1930s and ’40s, a brilliant, working-class young violinist is secluded in a prison-like music conservatory with an aristocratic boy who befriends him. Gradually, their bond is severely tested. What is genius? What is friendship? What is the price paid for beauty and greatness? These are some of the issues we’re confronted with in this riveting novel.

Ian Bostridge is one of the leading tenors of our time and maybe the leading interpreter of songs, a genre of classical music that reached its apex in the compositions of Franz Schubert, music’s gentle giant who died at the age of 31. Bostridge describes his book on Schubert's Winterreise, the greatest song cycle ever composed, as the 'anatomy of an obsession'. As one of the cycle's most distinguished interpreters, Bostridge has performed the cycle numerous times and knows it intimately. He also uses his knowledge as a historian to provide a probing and imaginative companion for those of us who can become fellow travellers on his obsession.

The book is beautifully written, containing an essay on each of the cycle's 24 songs—the song, so to speak, acting as the point of departure for a journey of its own. Some of these essays are historical in nature. They demonstrate… show more.

Classical music is often seen as being unapproachable, demanding, and difficult, the domain of geniuses and prodigies not for ordinary mortals. This delightful book makes available some of the greatest guitar music ever written in a form that is accessible yet recognisable. It enables the intermediate-level guitarist to advance their abilities while playing pieces that will transfix any audience, impress friends and family and render great satisfaction to the performer. 

This magnificent book focuses on a single piece of music, Gustav Mahler’s titanic Eighth Symphony, and its premiere in Munich in the summer of 1910, a major musical and cultural event that attracted many eminent personalities from all over Europe. Mahler himself had no doubts about the uniqueness of this symphony which he saw as his "gift to the nation ... a great joy-bringer,” not so far away from Beethoven’s message in his Ninth. He wrote: "Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound. There are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving." 

Johnson offers a detailed account of the work, its premiere, and the public response to it, a description of the deep personal traumas surrounding its composition (death of beloved daughter, marital turmoil, and terminal health troubles) and offers a profound analysis of the symphony’s musical structure, content, and originality. The… show more.

Whether you are a seasoned classical music lover or someone wanting to explore the world of classical music, you will love this book which offers a carefully selected piece for every day of the year. Whether you choose to listen to one piece each day, or as I did, in large batches, you will discover a true treasure trove of gems, some well-known, some rather hidden from sight. The author’s gentle, unpatronizing, and always imaginative commentary will enhance your understanding and your delight. Some of my favourite pieces are missing from the list (how could they not?) but every major composer from Thomas Ades to Frank Zappa is represented here, with titans like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Schubert featuring more than once.