The History of Classical Music

By: Richard Fawkes

Narrated by: Robert Powell

Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

From Gregorian Chant to Henryk Gorecki, the first living classical composer to get into the pop album charts, here is the fascinating story of over a thousand years of Western classical music and the composers who have sought to express in music the deepest of human feelings and emotions. Polyphony, sonata form, serial music - many musical expressions are also explained - with the text illustrated by performances from some of the most highly praised recordings of recent years.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. (P)1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

The best audio book on music history

It companied with short music demos for every type of music, and nicely mixed with the description, very enjoyable.

Good but sometimes superficial

Second half feels rushed because of the larger number of composers mentioned. First half was some great historical and theoretical detail...

The coverage

The brevity with which the time span from first known music to our present era was covered.

highly recommend

This excellent value is a great journey from the origins of classical music through the present day. There are tons of great musical illustrations, and each period and sub-genre of classical music is treated in a balanced, excellent manner. This work is great for those wanting to learn about great music, and for those whose rooms are filled with records and CD's (like mine!). I recommend this in opposition to 'The History of Opera' by the same author. 5 stars!

Excellent, too short though, history of music.

What did you love best about The History of Classical Music?

The narrator has a wonderful british accent and is so smooth and easy to listen to. History of music makes you want to go into more detail. 5 hours is just not enough. Wish it were longer.

Informative and enjoyable

Very enjoyable, and still informative without being superficial. Short enough to be entertaining, yet mentioning most, if not all the different streams of classical music worth knowing. Recommended.

Great music overview

This is a great overview of the history of Western Classical music. Although its treatment of some composers is very brief, it covers all the famous names and includes musical excerpts. The narrator is easy to listen to and the lectures are logically structured around the development of various musical forms as well as chronologically. A good starting point which will whet the appetite for learning and listening.

this book helped me gain an appreciation

I'm learning about classical music and this helped. I appreciate it more and I can start to have a conversation about it

Inaccuracy found

They play a recording of the rather famous second aria from the second act of the magic flute (Der Hölle Rache) and proceed to state that it is from the first act and is her first aria. This makes me very concerned about the accuracy of the rest of the book. It is not an obscure piece, it is one of the most famous aria's in the canon.

Needs more music, less talk

I don't doubt that there is much good information here. But, for a non-musician, a person interested in better understanding the music, I found the music snippets way too short and the monologue way too long.
Before I listened to "The History of Classical Music", I listened to "The Story of Classical Music". The latter was much more interesting and attuned to my level of knowledge, though it was written for children. I was hoping "The History" would be the next step in my education. But, alas, it was not for me.