Essays, articles and reviews from The Musical Heritage Review.

From 40 years of our monthly column "Exploring Music" to essays on a wide range of topics, The Musical Heritage Review took the original concept of an "expanded and improved liner notes" idea and became a magazine that was published 18 times a year for 40 years. From wild esoterica to thoughts about the weather, these essays are all about the joy of exploring music.

  • Exploring Music

    Written for over a decade almost exclusively by editor David M. Greene, "Exploring Music" essays accompanied Musical Heritage Society's Featured Selections. Usually between 5 and 7 essays were written for each edition of The Review, and David occasionally veered WAY off topic and added his own opinions about just about everything.

  • Essays

    Professors and musicians from the East Coast music schools wrote often for The Musical Heritage Review. The new fields of early music on historically informed instrument practice was a favorite topic of discussion (yay and nay), as was the doings of the Metropolitan Opera and...oh yes, record labels, like The Musical Heritage Society.

  • Reviews

    Each edition of The Musical Heritage Review contained hundreds of reviews. We've included many of these reviews on the product pages of the recordings we sell here at the site, but we will also feature many reviews here as well.

EXPLORING MUSIC

Devienne IS BACK! A Rediscovery

Devienne IS BACK! A Rediscovery

David M. Greene

Was Devienne significant? The Larousse La Musique des origins a nos jours (a present from Cathy 30 years ago!) notes him, in the operatic context, merely as "melodiste agreable." Baker's,...

Devienne IS BACK! A Rediscovery

David M. Greene

Was Devienne significant? The Larousse La Musique des origins a nos jours (a present from Cathy 30 years ago!) notes him, in the operatic context, merely as "melodiste agreable." Baker's,...

Read More
"Mister Franck! Time to do your symphony!"

"Mister Franck! Time to do your symphony!"

David M. Greene

What makes a man suddenly feel that a symphony is coming on? Since we think largely in metaphors and anal­ogies, I seem simply to sense some­thing like an alarm-clock sounding...

"Mister Franck! Time to do your symphony!"

David M. Greene

What makes a man suddenly feel that a symphony is coming on? Since we think largely in metaphors and anal­ogies, I seem simply to sense some­thing like an alarm-clock sounding...

Read More
Rameau: A College Dropout

Rameau: A College Dropout

David M. Greene

 When Lully took over as France's official musical dictator, French opera, as he devised it, was at least as much dance as song. A generation later, a bastard form called...

Rameau: A College Dropout

David M. Greene

 When Lully took over as France's official musical dictator, French opera, as he devised it, was at least as much dance as song. A generation later, a bastard form called...

Read More
Call Him Sam

Call Him Sam

David M. Greene

I was forbidden in my youth to pursue a musical career, on the grounds that for­tune eluded people who did, and fame came too late (if at all) to do...

Call Him Sam

David M. Greene

I was forbidden in my youth to pursue a musical career, on the grounds that for­tune eluded people who did, and fame came too late (if at all) to do...

Read More
Anton Rubinstein: Composer, Pianist, and Visionary in the Musical Heritage Society Collection

Anton Rubinstein: Composer, Pianist, and Vision...

The MHS Staff

Explore Anton Rubinstein’s life, music, and the rare recordings preserved in the Musical Heritage Society collection.

Anton Rubinstein: Composer, Pianist, and Vision...

The MHS Staff

Explore Anton Rubinstein’s life, music, and the rare recordings preserved in the Musical Heritage Society collection.

Read More
Jack Wilkins: A Jazz Guitar Virtuoso’s Legacy with the Jazz Heritage Society

Jack Wilkins: A Jazz Guitar Virtuoso’s Legacy w...

The MHS Staff

Celebrate the artistry of Jack Wilkins, his jazz guitar legacy, and his timeless recordings with the Jazz Heritage Society.

Jack Wilkins: A Jazz Guitar Virtuoso’s Legacy w...

The MHS Staff

Celebrate the artistry of Jack Wilkins, his jazz guitar legacy, and his timeless recordings with the Jazz Heritage Society.

Read More