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Title: Over forty years old and still the best.
Review: Of the large number of books available on the subject of orchestration Piston's is still the most useful. Although published back in 1955 it is clearer and more accessable than any book written since that I have encountered. Occassionally Piston's literary style is dated and a tad dull but the book is not intended to be entertaining but rather be used as a reference book to be dipped into when needed.Of the other books available, Forsyth's 'Orchestration' is the most entertaining and well worth a read. For anyone interested in how 20th-century composers have written orchestral music I recommend Morgan's 'Anthology of 20th-century Music' (published by Norton) which includes extracts of a number of 20th-century orchestral masterpieces (as well as chamber and solo instrumental works). But if I had to choose to own just one book on Orchestration then it would have to be the Piston.
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