Review of Declassified
Posted: 28 Nov 2022, 04:50
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Declassified" by Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch.]
When you think about classical music, you probably imagine stuffy suits and insufferable snobs. I, for one, started listening to classical music but dropped it because I wondered if I had the understanding to grasp what it was the high and mighty seemed to understand above all else. But Warsaw-Fan Rauch has shattered all my illusions about both classical music and the classical music industry. Arianna started listening to classical music because of her parents, particularly her father. Soon enough, she decided to play professionally, with the full support and backing of her parents. After attending Juilliard, and at the peak of her career, she quit.
Arianna discovered that she needed to revisit the heart of music and learn to listen again. Declassified: A Low-Key Guide to the High-Strung World of Classical Music is Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch’s ode to classical music. But more than that, she opens the doors of the “genre” and the industry wide open for everyone, regardless of taste or social standing. Classical music is more than the exclusion that snobby listeners seem intent on perpetuating, and this book is the best guide to explore all the beauty that it has to offer.
This book is part memoir, part ode, and part expose. From the first glimpses Warsaw-Fan Rauch gave into her history and love affair with classical music, I was hooked. But what held my interest captive was her evident love for music and her humility in approaching both the genre and the task of being a teacher to possibly millions of readers. Arianna’s splendid use of metaphors and seamless climaxes made my reading experience so much better. Her commentary was often lively and dramatic. When she described Thomas Tallis’ music as the first rays of hope after a millennium of wretchedness, I did not need to hear the tunes to be a believer. However, Arianna was firm about each reader listening for themselves and forming their own opinions.
The author included some industry drama that made learning about classical music and its history realistic and hilarious. I learned about Mozart’s scatological letters and jokes, Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved and the mystery surrounding her, and other love affairs that were downright scandalous! Her description of Handel’s Zadok the Priest used imagery perfectly and was so awe-inspiring that I could almost hear the uplifting piece just from her words. It was easy to tell that the author knows her onions, but what is even nobler is how passionate she is about wanting you to know it too.
Even the book’s cover (which features a Beethoven statue wearing colorful sunglasses) is a testament to how fun, unconventional, but practicable this book is. The author’s cheeky writing that throws in some inside jokes and even sad occurrences in her life was the perfect style to dismantle false beliefs about classical music and even true beliefs that should no longer carry on. The author was quick to call out anyone, especially herself, on their uncouth behavior. But she did this with tact. With impeccable editing, fluid writing, commendable use of metaphors, and nothing to dislike, I can only rate Declassified 5 out of 5. This book delivers on its promise to declassify classical music, and I recommend it to anyone who is even slightly interested in learning about classical music but feels shut out of that world.
******
Declassified
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
When you think about classical music, you probably imagine stuffy suits and insufferable snobs. I, for one, started listening to classical music but dropped it because I wondered if I had the understanding to grasp what it was the high and mighty seemed to understand above all else. But Warsaw-Fan Rauch has shattered all my illusions about both classical music and the classical music industry. Arianna started listening to classical music because of her parents, particularly her father. Soon enough, she decided to play professionally, with the full support and backing of her parents. After attending Juilliard, and at the peak of her career, she quit.
Arianna discovered that she needed to revisit the heart of music and learn to listen again. Declassified: A Low-Key Guide to the High-Strung World of Classical Music is Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch’s ode to classical music. But more than that, she opens the doors of the “genre” and the industry wide open for everyone, regardless of taste or social standing. Classical music is more than the exclusion that snobby listeners seem intent on perpetuating, and this book is the best guide to explore all the beauty that it has to offer.
This book is part memoir, part ode, and part expose. From the first glimpses Warsaw-Fan Rauch gave into her history and love affair with classical music, I was hooked. But what held my interest captive was her evident love for music and her humility in approaching both the genre and the task of being a teacher to possibly millions of readers. Arianna’s splendid use of metaphors and seamless climaxes made my reading experience so much better. Her commentary was often lively and dramatic. When she described Thomas Tallis’ music as the first rays of hope after a millennium of wretchedness, I did not need to hear the tunes to be a believer. However, Arianna was firm about each reader listening for themselves and forming their own opinions.
The author included some industry drama that made learning about classical music and its history realistic and hilarious. I learned about Mozart’s scatological letters and jokes, Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved and the mystery surrounding her, and other love affairs that were downright scandalous! Her description of Handel’s Zadok the Priest used imagery perfectly and was so awe-inspiring that I could almost hear the uplifting piece just from her words. It was easy to tell that the author knows her onions, but what is even nobler is how passionate she is about wanting you to know it too.
Even the book’s cover (which features a Beethoven statue wearing colorful sunglasses) is a testament to how fun, unconventional, but practicable this book is. The author’s cheeky writing that throws in some inside jokes and even sad occurrences in her life was the perfect style to dismantle false beliefs about classical music and even true beliefs that should no longer carry on. The author was quick to call out anyone, especially herself, on their uncouth behavior. But she did this with tact. With impeccable editing, fluid writing, commendable use of metaphors, and nothing to dislike, I can only rate Declassified 5 out of 5. This book delivers on its promise to declassify classical music, and I recommend it to anyone who is even slightly interested in learning about classical music but feels shut out of that world.
******
Declassified
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I love those shades on Beethoven!