I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

Discover an intriguing collection of notable events, remarkable nuggets and entertaining coincidences from music history - from 1894 to the present - for every day of the year in this constantly surprising compendium.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Justin Lewis is an editor and writer specialising in music. This hugely entertaining compendium of pop music facts comprises a number of facts for each day of the year including song releases or the birth/death of people involved in pop music (writers, artists, producers etc). The entries cover events from 1894 up to 2023 and it’s filled with fascinating nuggets that make it perfect for music aficionados and dilettantes alike.

The Blurb On The Back:

Luli loves playing the violin in an orchestra. She is so excited when she hears that her orchestra will play outdoors in Tragalgar Square. It’s a midsummer concert for everyone!

A LITTLE BOOK OF THE ORCHESTRA reveals the world of a large orchestra in a story of one of its musicians and their instrument. In this book, find out about the violin and what it is like to learn and play. As you read, you can listen to the amazing music the violin creates both on its own and within the orchestra.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Mary Auld (a pen name for Rachel Cooke) and Elisa Paganelli’s illustrated book for readers aged 7+ (produced with the London Symphony Orchestra) intends to get children interested in classical music and playing instruments. Told as a story, there’s a lot of information here but while I liked the audio download accompaniment, I don’t think the format gives itself to casual reading and it’s better used in a formal teaching setting.

A LITTLE BOOK OF THE ORCHESTRA - THE VIOLIN was released in the United Kingdom on 9th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

In September of 1941, Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history – two and a half years of bombardment and starvation. More than a million citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets, the relatives of the dead having neither the means nor the strength to bury them. Desperate citizens burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and – eventually – even one another to stay alive.

Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogised, and commemorated his fellow citizens – the Leningrad Symphony. This testament of courage was copied onto microfilm, driven across the Middle East, and flown over the deserts of North Africa to be performed in the United States – where it played a surprising role in strengthening the Grand Alliance against the Axis powers.

This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power – and layered meaning – of music in beleaguered lives.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

M. T. Anderson leaves the world of fiction to create that YA rarity: a non-fiction book for the commercial market, which mixes history, biography and music in a way that had me gripped from start to finish.

Thanks to Walker Books for the review copy of this book.