Robert Philip was a senior lecturer in music at the Open University, and is a well-known presenter on BBC Radio. He is the award-winning author of Performing Music in the Age of Recording and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“Other guides to the orchestral repertoire offer neat thumbnail
sketches, but Philip delves deeper as he surveys the history and
analysis of 400 concert works from Corelli to
Shostakovich.”—Richard Fairman, The Financial Times (Books of the
Year 2018)
“If readers want to understand or expand their knowledge of
orchestral music, this is the book most needed. This is the one to
buy.” —Ian Lipke, Queensland Reviewers Collective
“This is a book the musically curious will want to keep handy
to dip into for sheer enjoyment, or to seek an informed opinion
before listening to a live or recorded performance.” —Susan
Nickalls, Classical Music Magazine
“In this new book, which has been painstakingly prepared over a
number of years, Philip turns his attention to more than 300
orchestral works dating from late 17th century Corelli and Vivaldi
to 20th century Britten and Tippett. The scale is breathtaking, the
choice both comprehensive and representative, but most importantly
the scholarship is profound, perceptive and concise, with a
directness of language that completely avoids pomposity.” —Ken
Walton, The Scotsman
“Readers will be enticed to listen to familiar compositions with
new ears” — Keith Bruce, The Herald
“A collection of authoritatively written programme essays on
some 400 works by 68 composers from Bach to Webern”—Richard
Osborne, Oldie
“An ambitious project and elegantly published” —Gavin Plumley,
Gramophone
“What I like best about the book: that Philip is unafraid of
voicing his opinions, and that the opinions are so often
convincing” —Stephen Brown, Times Literary Supplement
"The Classical Music Lover’s Companion to Orchestral Music is a
real treasure...Philip has the rare ability to write about music in
a highly accessible, casual style, free from overly technical
language, while nevertheless offering much that even experts will
value."—David D. Corey, Law & Liberty
“Robert Philip's book is an astonishing achievement: a crisp,
compendious and penetrating account of virtually every well-known
piece of orchestral music the listener could hope to hear. Full of
insight and illuminating description, it's an encouragement to
listen, and an encouragement to explore. Dip in, and immerse
yourself in some of the greatest music ever written—with a truly
knowledgeable guide for company.”—Nicholas Kenyon, Managing
Director, Barbican Centre
“Robert Philip achieves the almost impossible with his erudite,
accessible and hugely informed commentary, covering a wide range of
works, often calling on significant composer correspondence and
charting the course of each piece with a tiller’s hand. When he
writes about music you know and love, you suddenly realise why you
love it so much. A masterly exegesis beautifully written.”—Rob
Cowan
“In a class of its own for scope, detail and depth of insight.
Philip’s sheer knowledge is staggering. It’s hard to think of any
other British musicologist who could have produced such a magnum
opus and written with equal illumination across 250 years of
repertoire.”—Richard Wigmore
“Robert Philip’s new book, covering four hundred works by
sixty-eight composers, is an engaging companion that offers
intriguing details about each piece for all music lovers in an
accessible, non-technical manner.”—Marin Alsop
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