A good review for those of us who have performed in school and community bands and orchestras. A nice addition to anyone studying music and traditions. If you love music trivia this book might interest you.
After a few chapters it can get a bit dry and you must take a break.
We enjoyed reading it on a long car trip.

If you love music this book is perfect for you. It has interesting facts and information about classical music, which I find to be the foundation of all music.

This book is an "everything you need to know but are afraid to ask" volume pertaining to classical music. Robert Cutietta has done a terrific job describing in an accessible and entertaining way all the many idiosyncrasies and quirky traditions surrounding the world of classical music performers and performances. He explores through a friendly question and answer format everything from who's in charge in an ensemble to how string players decide how to synchronize their bow directions. This is a perfect book for classical music newbies, but also has enough interest for long time listeners and musicians. Thanks to Netgalley for making this available.

Who Knew? from Robert A. Cutietta is a wonderful resource for both the seasoned classical music fan and the listener new to the genre. Based on a long-running radio show where he answers questions submitted to him, this book manages to be thorough and engaging at the same time.

I fall some place in the middle of that spectrum of classical listeners and also probably ranks classical as my fourth or fifth favorite genre, so this book serves to fill in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. I have been surprised that some of the answers have made me think about other genres, in particular bands and musicians I have known, and how similar some of the hidden rules and regs seem to be. Though without the history and tradition of classical music.

In addition to helping make better informed listeners the book also brings a new appreciation to all aspects of classical music as both music and as a performance/entertainment business in the 21st century. Quite a lot goes into every single performance and so often the listener just thinks about that brief interlude of the performance itself.

I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in classical music at any level. I also think people involved with other types of music will enjoy this and gain a new appreciation for the music and performance of classical music.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

If you're a ballet fan you learn about it, if you're a music fan, also you learn about it and this book is a good start to do it 'cause doesn't try the reader as a complete fool but either belive that is an expert