Perfect Pitch

'Sharply insightful and vividly imaginative... the perfect Christmas gift for anyone asking: 'How do I get into classical music?'' - Rupert Christiansen, Mail on Sunday

'A treat from the very first page... written with style and humour, this is a perfect introduction to classical music for a beginner, a companion for the music lover, and sheer entertainment for both.' - Joanna Lumley

Nearly all of us have the capacity to enjoy classical music but too often we are put off by not knowing where to look, or what we are actually looking for. We feel the need of a guide to help navigate such vast and varied artistic terrain.

With this delightful book, historian Tim Bouverie provides just this. Drawing on his lifelong passion for music, he has created a compilation of 100 classical masterpieces sure to move and be enjoyed by almost anyone. Some are well-known, some more idiosyncratic, others hidden gems waiting to be brought into the light. All are intended to comfort and inspire. He provides a short introduction to each piece - variously anecdotal, personal, historical and quirky - and a recommended recording to try.

Highly accessible and entertaining, Perfect Pitch is filled with engrossing stories and insights that bring to life 300 years of the world's greatest music.

An accompanying playlist is available on Spotify.

“This is exactly the book I want to read at the moment. Presented with style and humour, the choice of 100 pieces immediately starts you off a hunt for your own favourites... It's a perfect introduction to classical music for a beginner, a companion for the music lover, and sheer entertainment for both.”

This is exactly the book I want to read at the moment. Presented with style and humour, the choice of 100 pieces immediately starts you off a hunt for your own favourites... It's a perfect introduction to classical music for a beginner, a companion for the music lover, and sheer entertainment for both. Joanna Lumley
This generous and passionate response to human need at a time of global anxiety will transcend its troubled time, and remain a loving companion and opener of doors. Tim Bouverie's selection of music is wide-ranging, and his introductions to each piece astutely blend context and anecdote, always delivered with smiling and enthusiastic authority. -- Dame Jane Glover, conductor and author of 'Mozart's Women'
You are new to classical music? I can think of no better introduction. You already know your classical music? I can think of no better companion, no more rewarding way of extending your own knowledge. Use it to create and stimulate your own love for the most personal and intimate art form of all. -- John Suchet, Classic FM
I think it's the most beautifully written explanation of classical music I have come across... It is both rich in detail, but also so brief (that's a real feat) and each short introduction left me on the edge of my seat, eager to hear the music. -- Victoria Hislop

A wonderful selection of music that nourishes the soul, giving comfort as well as joy. Both witty and profound, this is a book which provides insight into life as well as art.

-- Julia Samuels, author of 'Grief Works' and 'This Too Shall Pass'
Thank you to Tim Bouverie for this book which can be enjoyed as much by the hard-nosed professional as the beginner, anxious to learn something of this great music. -- Jools Holland
If you want to understand classical music but don't know where to start, this is the perfect introduction. -- Alan Titchmarsh

Tim Bouverie has nurtured a passion for classical music since he was five years old. Having studied history at Christ Church Oxford, he worked as a political journalist before becoming a full-time historian and writer. His first book Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain Churchill and the Road to War was a Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. While working on a sequel on Allied diplomacy during the Second World War, he has been the Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford.

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