Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics

Offers a start-to-finish history of classical music, explaining how the twentieth century has reached a radical tranformation period in which orchestras have become out of reach to most people, left only to the elite who can afford their exorbitant ticket prices."

A sequel of sorts to The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power, Who Killed Classical Music? continues British author and critic Norman Lebrecht's version of the saga of how presenting classical music evolved from the (at least ostensible) nurturing of art into a brutal and fairly sleazy business. Lebrecht finds plenty of heads on which to heap the blame, and more than a few minor deities are toppled from their thrones. He's not always altogether accurate in the small details, but he's eminently readable and he's got the big picture dead on. Like its predecessor, this is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of classical music.