"An opinionated, stimulating account of how classical music failed to
establish fruitful roots in America," Classical Music in America
chronicles "a cultural attitude that has produced many fine artists and
striking moments--but no institutional or intellectual support to
sustain them" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). "An admirable,
scholarly volume" (Times Literary Supplement), this "formidable book
... shows how American classical music became a 'performance culture, '
an ersatz-European showplace for celebrity virtuosos, rather than a
native-born genre" (The New Yorker). "As a comprehensive, convincing
analysis of the contemporary dilemma" of reconciling European heritage
with American vision "and a riveting portrait of the century and a half
of events and personalities which brought it about, Mr Horowitz's
account would be hard to beat" (The Economist). "Anyone seeking to
understand why American classical music has come to so dead an end--and
wondering how it might yet escape a final descent into cultural
irrelevance--should read Classical Music in America with close
attention" (Commentary).