Description: In Experiencing Tchaikovsky: A Listener s Companion, historian and scholar David Schroeder looks beyond traditional views of Tchaikovsky to explore the dramatic impact of his music by walking readers through the remarkable range of works by this great Russian composer."
Brief description: David Schroeder is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University. His previous books include Haydn and the Enlightenment, Mozart in Revolt: Strategies of Resistance, Mischief and Deception, Our Schubert: His Enduring Legacy (Scarecrow, 2009), and Hitchcock's Ear: Music and the Director's Art.
Review Quotes: "While this book makes no claims to be a scholarly study or a biography, it strikes me that Schroeder has read widely in the essential biographical material and has thought hard about what to listen for in the pieces he has chosen to deal with in some depth. . . .His approach to doing this is that 'it's more useful to look at a few works in detail than to consider a large number superficially.' I think this is a good strategy, especially as he tries to show certain essential characteristics of Tchaikovsky's compositional approach, which can then be useful in considering his other music. . . .[T]his book is well written, even occasionally trendy (Star Wars makes an appearance)." --Fanfare Magazine