Classical Music Month

Classical Music Month is observed in September. It was established in 1994 by President Bill Clinton's proclamation. The month aims to celebrate the study and beauty of classical music. Here's a list of books to get you started.

Updated August 22, 2025
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The way of Bach : three years with the man, the music, and the piano
Moller, Dan
Paper Book
A tale of passion and obsession from a philosophy professor who teaches himself to play Bach on the piano. Dan Moller grew up listening to heavy metal in the Boston suburbs. But something changed when he dug out his mother's record of The Art of the Fugue, inexplicably...
Mozart's starling
Haupt, Lyanda Lynn
Paper Book
On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling in a Viennese shop who sang an improvised version of the theme from his Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major. Sensing a kindred spirit in the plucky young bird, Mozart bought him and took him home to be a family pet. For...
Declassified : a low-key guide to the high-strung world of classical music
Warsaw-Fan Rauch, Arianna
Paper Book
"A refreshingly fun guide" that reads "as if you're a fly on the wall in conservatory auditions, cutthroat competitions and the obsessive practice routines of professional musicians." (The New York Times) Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch's life-long fascination with classical...
Language of the spirit : an introduction to classical music
Swafford, Jan
Paper Book
A preeminent composer, music scholar, and biographer presents an engaging and accessible introduction to classical music For many of us, classical music is something serious -- something we study in school, something played by cultivated musicians at fancy gatherings. In...
Chopin's piano : in search of the instrument that transformed music
Kildea, Paul Francis
Paper Book
In November 1838, Frédéric Chopin, George Sand, and her two children sailed to Majorca to escape the Parisian winter. They settled in an abandoned monastery at Valldemossa in the mountains above Palma where Chopin finished what would eventually be recognized as one of the great and revolutionary...

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