PERFECT PITCH THE NPR CLASSICAL MUSIC COMPANION Terms and Concepts from A to Z By Miles Hoffman Mariner Books 306pp $15 paper Don't let this book's subtitle, with its reference to ''terms and concepts,'' lead you to think that The NPR Classical Music Companion is a dictionary aimed at classical music connoisseurs. It is a delightful and accessible guide that demystifies highbrow music. A graduate of the Juilliard School, the author is the violist and artistic director of the American Chamber Players, a chamber music group, but is best known for his commentary, ''Coming to Terms,'' heard since 1989 on the National Public Radio program Performance Today. His Music Companion is in its fourth printing since its September publication and carries 130 entries ranging from a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment) to Zarzuela (Spain's national opera). But Hoffman's witty and erudite text offers much more than definitions of arcane terms. He explains that ''impressionism'' is a musical style primarily associated with French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918), whose works have less to do with compositional structures and procedures than with mood, color, and fluid and unexpected shifts of harmony. Influenced by the ideals of Impressionist painters, Debussy's first major impressionist work was the familiar Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. For good measure, Hoffman tells us that in painting, the term derives from one of Claude Monet's works, Impression: Rising Sun. The author can be preachy: The 20th century's grim realities have made ''pessimistic reflections in musical composition...inevitable,'' he says. But such cliches are worth enduring to get to sections such as the one evaluating conductors. Here, the author explains that a conductor may be technically competent but unimaginative, sometimes putting on extravagant physical shows that do little to help orchestra members shape a performance. Fortunately, adds Hoffman, such shortcomings aren't always fatal: ''It's a matter of professional accomplishment and professional pride for the best orchestras that they simply don't allow themselves to play below a certain level.'' Hoffman doesn't claim to have written an exhaustive reference work, but there are times when a reader yearns for more information. We learn, for example, that composers often borrow dances (musical pieces or forms identified with a set of repeated steps and movements) because of their rhythmic vitality and ready-made associations. Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms all used fast Hungarian or Gypsy dances, as did numerous others about whom we would appreciate a few more details. And did you know that the oratorio, a large-scale composition for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra, was named for a building? Or that such prominent composers as Paganini, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff began their careers as virtuoso performers? Three years in the composing, Hoffman's tale is itself a virtuoso performance. BY KEITH FELCYN RELATED ITEMS PHOTO: Cover, ``The NPR Classical Music Companion'' Return to top of story

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