The Rest is Noise

A sweeping musical history that goes from the salons of pre-war Vienna to Velvet Underground shows in the sixties. In The Rest is Noise, Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker, gives us a riveting tour of the wild landscape of twentieth-century classical music: portraits of individuals, cultures, and nations reveal the predicament of the composer in a noisy, chaotic century. Taking as his starting point a production of Richard Strauss's Salome, conducted by the composer on 16 May 1906 with Puccini, Schoenberg, Berg and Adolf Hitler seated in the stalls, Ross suggests how this evening can be considered the century's musical watershed rather the riotous premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring seven years later. Ross goes on to explore the mythology of modernism, Sibelius and the music of small countries, Kurt Weill, the music of the Third Reich, Britten, Boulez and the post-war avant-garde, and interactions between minimalist composers and rock bands in the sixties and seventies.

'Alex Ross's incredibly nourishing book will rekindle anyone's fire for music.' Bjork 'One of the best living writer's about rock .' Steven Poole, Guardian 'Picks for 2008' 'A superb and inclusive account by a champion of modern music.' Sunday Times 'Puts the history back into music and the music back into history. Alex Ross's brave avoidance of musical notation and brilliant use of metaphorical and descriptive language, means that The Rest is Noise grapples with the actual stuff of music as few other books have done. And if you want to hear the sounds themselves, you can always go to his website at www.therestisnoise.com and listen.' TLS 'Print is silent. Which is why the task of writing about music is so difficult. I should therefore probably explain that the noise you now ought to be hearing is the sound of my hands as they stop typing and start applauding this vital, engaging, happily polyphonic book.' Peter Conrad, Observer 'This is a long book and a slow read: slow not because it is especially difficult, but because it is full of material you really need to savour. It is the superb selection of image and anecdote that makes this book work so well. Best of all are the moments when Ross really strikes you dumb with wonder, moments when the author's passion for the supreme significance of music raises his erudition to a new level. Warm, joyful and unfailingly adroit in his evocation of music in words -- Ross, with this book, establishes himself as the supreme champion of modern music. Read this and listen.' Sunday Times 'Ross will whisk you on to the fast--moving train that was 20th--century music; he will fascinate, challenge and delight you, but above all he will never, ever patronise you.' Stephen Pritchard, Observer Music Monthly 'The Rest is Noise is magnificent: a study of the politics of music in the narrow sense of the infighting between schools of composition, and also in the broad sense of the impact of political movements on music. A harmonious mix of musical gossip and politics.' Sunday Telegraph 'A masterly writer. All are vivid, fresh images; the overview -- at 600 pages -- generous. One forsees it rapidly earning a place on college and university reading lists. A remarkable book.' Classical Music 'Stunning narrative. Visionary music critic Alex Ross comes closer than anyone to describing the spellbinding sensations music provokes.' Financial Times 'Just occasionally someone writes a book you've waited your life to read. Alex Ross's enthralling history of 20th--century music is, for me, one of those books.' Guardian 'Bracingly vivid exploration of the musical 20th century!a crackingly paced narrative that will appeal as much to the musical neophyte as the classical buff!wonderfully evocative' The Times 'Utterly gripping account of the relationship between music and public life in the last century. The Rest is Noise is a wonderful book, both as an account of 20th--century music and as something of a cautionary tale about the influence of politics on art.' Scotland on Sunday 'The Rest is Noise is a great achievement. Rilke once wrote of how he learned to stand "more seemingly" in front of certain paintings. Ross enables us to listen more hearingly.' Scotsman (taken from the New York Times review) 'Throughout the book there are perceptive analyses of individual works. Ross's nose for sour--sweet vignettes and pungent quotations is impressive. So too is his ability top tickle the appetite with work rarely heard in the average concert season. Thanks to Ross, our chances of hearing them, be they good or bad, are now greatly improved.' New Statesman 'Ross's special gift is not only that he is so informative but that he writes so well, so elegantly and eloquently, and with the ability to sustain tension and polish. The book reads like a gripping historical thriller.' Herald 'The Rest is Noise looks set to become the definitive reference point for everyone who loves modern music, as well as for those wh

Blackwell review:
Already a classic, New Yorker music critic Ross's riveting tour through the landscape of 20th century music has been one of the non-fiction highlights of the year.

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