The nineteenth century was the romantic century par excellence— a romanticism that found its most characteristic expression in the art of music. Perhaps that explains the continued reluctance of the music loving public to admit that with the new century a different kind of music had to come into being. And yet their counterparts in the literary world do not expect André Gide or Thomas Mann or T.S. Eliot to emote with the accents of Victor Hugo or Sir Walter Scott. Why then should Bartók or Sessions be expected to sing with the voice of Brahms or Tchaikovsky? When a contemporary piece seems dry and cerebral to you, when it seems to be giving off little feeling or sentiment, there is a good chance that you are being insensitive to the characteristic musical speech of your own epoch.
What to Listen for in Music, Aaron Copland.
If you an interest in music then you owe it to yourself to have read this book. It was first published in 1953 so you can get a secondhand copy easily and for a few dollars. There is no better grounding in, as the titled says, what to listen for in music.
