One nice thing about classical music: Books about it are never outdated. THE ROBERT J. LURTSEMA MUSICAL QUIZ BOOK was written in 1992. It includes seventy five quizzes on topics including conductors, orchestras, composers, and musicians presented in diverse form including fill in the blank, which statement is not true, which came first, and matching, But the main part of the book is anecdotes, mostly gossipy, about famous people in each of those fields.
You don’t have be know a lot about classical music to learn from and enjoy the book. One story is about a composer who presented a program with two compositions. The first was by Beethoven, the second by himself. For some reason, he switched the order for he performance. The audience loved the first selection. They walked out during the second.
In live theater productions, things don’t always go according to plan. Several examples are included. Sometimes a piece is very similar, if not identical, to another selection. In one instance, the performers forgot which piece they were presenting and switched part way through.
Artists temperaments can also be entertaining when we read of things that go on behind the scenes or, sometimes, on stage.
The book is delightfully illustrated by David Omar White. ( )