The Story of Classical Music

By: Darren Henley

Narrated by: Marin Alsop

Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

The lives and music of the great composers of classical music unfold in this entertaining account, introduced by the conductor and musical personality Marin Alsop. In 1200 years, classical music grew from the chanting of medieval monks through the symphonies of Beethoven and the grand operas of Wagner to the huge orchestral sound-world of the 21st century, with its electronics and its film music. In her easy-going style, Marin Alsop paints vivid portraits of over 90 composers, each one illustrated with some of his, or her, most famous music.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2004 Darren Henley (P)2004 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Original Work and Achievement in Production, 2005

"Alsop's easygoing approach works well as she serves as a welcoming tour guide offering fun facts and interesting biographical sketches for listeners." (Publishers Weekly)
"This charming compilation is cheerfully hosted by the clear and friendly voice of Marin Alsop, who walks young (and curious adult) listeners through an engaging history of classical music." (AudioFile)

Short and sweet

I myself am a music student at university, and I found this to be a wonderfully short and sweet overview of classical music. It was written in an enjoyable way, and I loved that they put the musical excerpts in there as well. I felt he spent a little too much time on a few composers and really glossed over others. Overall, though, I'd recommend it to anyone.

Pretty Enjoyable

Between this title and 'Classical Music 101', this one was a joy to listen to as the latter one was drudgery. The narration was pleasant and the musical snippets were a nice additional bonus to help move the story along, although some of the snippets were too long. However, I enjoyed it and I believe that children 8 and over would also enjoy it.

The child's ear

I'm an adult and I love music, though I can't say I have an "educated ear". Thus my desire to do some music history! As I was looking through the more sophisticated books on the topic, I read a review of someone saying she had preferred this one because the music samples were longer. I'm glad I took her advice. I learned a lot, had fun and listened to some beautiful music and I'm not embarrassed to say that the "child" approach was perfect for me!

A fantastic short introduction

I enjoyed this audiobook tremendously. The individual composers don’t get a lot of attention, but that’s logical in what’s clearly meant as to be an introduction into classical music. It does, however, have an amazingly wide scope: all major movements are included, from 1400 years ago up till the present. To me, it was most endearing and enlightening. Those who want to get started listening to classical music are smart to get this audiobook, because it’ll help them find composers and styles they’ll enjoy.

Target audience: children

Xtra light on facts, lots of music snippets and a little gossip about composers - this is a book to play to your kids. My 16 year old son will already find the slighly patronising tone irritating, so younger kids only! Personally I also dislike the strong American accent. Wasted my credits on this one... :(

The Story of Classical Music

Sorry I bought this one. It as interesting as listening to some one read an index. No comparasion to other music themed stories like "Beethoven Live Upstairs". Just a dull chronologic survey with music samples.