The Romantic Composers

Mason, Daniel Gregory, 1873-1953Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 362K words
Chapters: 37

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Romantic Composers by Daniel Gregory MasonAuthor: Mason, Daniel Gregory, 1873-1953,Language: English, Class: ML: Music: Literature of music, Release Date: Dec 21, 2018

Editor's review

Daniel Gregory Mason was an American composer, music educator, and critic, and this book is his popular introduction to Romantic-era composers for general readers. Its strength lies in using composers as threads to connect changes in compositional style, period taste, and musical ideas; the language is relatively plain and does not rely heavily on score analysis, making it friendly to non-specialists. As a public-domain ebook, its publication date and the author's outlook mean its discussion centers mainly on nineteenth-century European composers, and its evaluative stance bears the mark of early twentieth-century music criticism; readers should treat it as a historically valuable guide rather than current scholarly consensus. It suits extended reading after an introduction to classical music, helping build a basic framework of composers and stylistic periods; it also suits music lovers for browsing selectively by composer entry. For precise work analysis or the latest research, more specialized literature is needed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Enthusiasts with basic classical-music knowledge who want a systematic acquaintance with Romantic composers
Lower-level music students needing a guide to composers and stylistic threads
Readers interested in early twentieth-century music criticism and appreciation style

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no classical-music listening experience
Professional researchers expecting detailed score analysis and technical discussion
Readers seeking the latest contemporary musicological views and research

Reading tips

Read selectively by composer chapter while listening to representative works; this works better than reading straight through.
Note the author's judgmental tone and distinguish factual statements from personal appreciation.
Cross-check dates and schools with a general music history to offset the book's period limitations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I understand this book without music-theory background?

The book focuses on composers and style commentary and does not depend on extensive score examples, so general readers can follow the gist. But with no classical-music listening experience the names of people and works will feel dense; listen to several representative works first and reading will go much more smoothly.

Do the book's views still apply today?

The book reflects the early twentieth-century perspective of music criticism, and its evaluations and choices of composers embody the aesthetic stance of its time. It retains reference value as a historical document, but for specific work analysis and school conclusions it should be compared with contemporary musicology rather than taken as the sole basis.

How does this book differ from a general music-history textbook?

It is not structured as a chronological general history but offers commentary centered on Romantic composers, more like an appreciation-oriented guide. Compared with a textbook it emphasizes stylistic impressions and character sketches, with somewhat less systematic rigor and terminological precision, making it suitable as supplementary reading alongside a textbook.

Comments

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About the author

Mason, Daniel Gregory, 1873-1953 Author

Daniel Gregory Mason (1873-1953) was an American writer on music. His exact biographical details are limited in publicly available sources, but the four works held in this collection clearly outline the focus of his writing. His books consistently centre on Western classical and Romantic music: Beethoven and His Forerunners traces the roots of the classical style, while From Grieg to Brahms, The Romantic Composers and Contemporary Composers together survey European composers from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Mason's writing consists mainly of composer portraits and analyses of individual works, combined with discussion of stylistic change and musical appreciation. Aimed at general readers rather than specialists in music theory, his prose is clear and well organised, and carries the aesthetic judgments of a thoughtful critic. Such popularising books on music were well received in the early twentieth-century English-speaking world, offering the public a step-by-step guide to the symphonic and chamber traditions and ensuring that his works remain useful references for understanding the musical tastes and critical language of that period.