Web makes book’s words ring true

Bucking the trend of putting CDs in new books about music and dance, Joseph Horowitz chose a different option for his “Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall.” To hear some of the music he discusses, he refers readers to his publisher’s website: www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall04/005717.htm.

“The website option gives us more playing time than we could possibly archive on a CD,” Horowitz says.

There’s more than five hours, in fact, featuring historical and contemporary performances otherwise difficult to obtain.

“There’s an Anthony Philip Heinrich piece which has never been recorded commercially,” Horowitz says. “I wanted people to hear what it sounded like.”

Another rarity is Arthur Farwell’s “Pawnee Horses,” the “most difficult and original of American Indianist works. There’s a piano version and an a cappella choral version. Ben Pasternak is the solo pianist. He specially recorded this version for the site.”

Pasternak also recorded Farwell’s “Navajo War Dance No. 2” for the site. “That’s a very difficult piece. Many people couldn’t play it.”

The historical performances include selections featuring pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, violinists Jascha Heifetz and Joseph Szigeti (accompanied by composer Bela Bartok) and conductors Leopold Stokowski, Serge Koussevitzky, Arturo Toscanini and Dimitri Mitropoulos. There are also excerpts from Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.

“People who have never heard Met broadcasts from the ‘30s cannot imagine the quality of the performances,” Horowitz says. “A number of these historical performances are absolutely mind-boggling. It’s a treasure trove.”

Anyone can access the site. You don’t even have to buy the book.