JOSHUA RIFKIN The Baroque Beatles Book (2009 issue UK 12-track CD album - Musicologist-conductor-pianist Joshua Rifkin's 'The Baroque Beatles Book' is a milestone from the early days of Nonesuch Records. It began as a marketing concept-cum-youthful prank: How about writing Baroque-era arrangements of the Fab Four's Top 40 hits, as if Lennon & McCartney were contemporaries of Bach & Handel? Beatlemania and the Baroque were both in fashion with their respective audiences,and the disc became a crossover hit at the height of the 1965 holiday season. But this was no mere novelty item; over the years it has gained downright legendary status among Beatles fans, classical enthusiasts and those who have followed the remarkable evolution of the Nonesuch label)