“In this persuasive, well-organized study, Monelle (Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland) makes a significant contribution to understanding hunt, military, and pastoral music. . . . This clearly reasoned, charmingly written volume has the potential to change the way one hears, performs, and teaches significant portions of the musical canon from Haydn and Mozart through Debussy and Mahler. . . . Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.”
 — Choice

“This book embarks on a cultural history of three tropes, or themes, that appear frequently in musical works. These topics convey meaning to the work by their perceived associations to literature, social history, or art. Listeners from Haydn and Beethoven's time may have immediately recognized the associations, but today we need critics and historians to return these contexts to the music.Vol. 22.1 Summer 2007”
 — Beethoven Journal

“The Musical Topic marks the culmination of Monelle's developing thought on the book's titular subject. . . . Monelle has drawn upon an impressive array of sources in a variety of fields, producing an interdisciplinary study of unusual scope. No. 89, Spring 2010”
 — Current Musicology

“The Musical Topic examines three tropes prominently featured in Western European music: the hunt, the military, and the pastoral. Richard Monelle's invaluable interdisciplinary study shows the connections of musical meaning to literature, social history, and the fine arts.”