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  • Narrated by: Gerard Schwarz
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Debussy was the first great composer of the twentieth century. He departed from previous musical practice to a greater extent than any previous composer. Though he completed his masterpieces Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun and the triptych Nocturnes before the turn of the century, it was not until 1902 that Debussy received widespread recognition.

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Gerard Schwarz examines the life of this impolitic composer who lived in the political world of revolutionary Russia. Prokofiev's failure to interest himself in political realities, together with his tremendous confidence in his own genius, led him to ignore the darkening climate for artists in the Soviet Union. When the Soviets arrested his first wife on charges of spying, Prokofiev issued a public apology for his failure to write in an appropriate socialist style.

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  • Great Music of the 20th Century

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    4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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The 20th century was a hotbed of musical exploration, innovation, and transformation unlike any other epoch in history. Ranging across the century in its entirety, these 24 lectures present a musical cornucopia of astounding dimensions - a major presentation and exploration of the incredible brilliance and diversity of musical art across a turbulent century. Far more than simply a series of lectures, the program comprises a huge and many-sided resource for discovering the endless riches of 20th-century concert music across the globe.

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Conductor's Guide to Haydn's Cello Concerto in D Major & Symphony No. 103 audiobook cover art

  • Conductor's Guide to Haydn's Cello Concerto in D Major & Symphony No. 103

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More than any other composer, Franz Joseph Haydn deserves to be called the father of music's "Classical" style. As he came of age in the mid-18th century, musical thinking was in the midst of profound changes. The compositional forms and procedures of the Baroque era began to seem old-fashioned and composers sought fresh modes of musical expression.

Conductor's Guide to Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin & Concerto for Orchestra audiobook cover art

  • Conductor's Guide to Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin & Concerto for Orchestra

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Gerard Schwarz describes how Bela Bartok developed new rhythmic patterns modeled on Balkan and North African folk music and explored unusual instrumental colors and textures. During the 1920s and early 1930s, Bartok's innovative tendencies earned him a reputation as an uncompromising modernist, making him almost a musical anarchist who was unappreciated and largely unperformed, particularly in his native Hungary.

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  • Conductor's Guide to Strauss' Thus Spake Zarathustra and Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome

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Like all tone poems, "Thus Spake Zarathustra" follows a "program" or story line which, to some extent, dictates its musical form and details. Strauss derived his program from Nietzsche's philosophical allegory or the same name which theorizes the rise of mankind from a primitive natural state to one of moral and intellectual superiority.

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Publisher's Summary

As the 20th century winds to its close, Igor Stravinsky stands securely as its most important and influential composer. For more than six decades his works defined modernism in music, just as Picasso's canvases showed the essence of modernism in painting. Like that great Spanish artist, who was almost his exact contemporary, Stravinsky attained a dominating stature in his field. Only a handful of composers rivaled him in significance during his lifetime. None surpassed him.

Stravinsky's pre-eminence among the modern masters rests in large part on the great originality of his work. The composer introduced exciting new rhythmic possibilities into concert music, made expressive use of dissonance, and conceived unprecedented instrumental sonorities. These novelties baffled some listeners early in the century and cemented the composer's reputation as a daring modernist. Yet for all his innovation, Stravinsky was no iconoclast bent on destroying the past. On the contrary, his art was in many ways rooted in tradition. He drew inspiration from legends and fairy tales, from old Italian comedy and classical myths. And he loved music from earlier centuries and paid homage to it in a number of his works.

The Musically Speaking Conductor's Guides are your link to an appreciation of the greatest classical music ever performed. Let Maestro Gerard Schwarz enrich your classical music listening enjoyment by illuminating the great works of the Masters with revealing commentary and educational insight.
If you love the symphony, this hour of delightful entertainment and fascinating information will enrich your symphony experience like nothing else. See the entire Musically Speaking Collection here.
(P)1996 CVP, Inc.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Misleading title . . . not FOR conductors

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This audiobook, while well written, does not fall in line with it's title. I was specifically looking for an in-depth analysis of the Rite of Spring. The level of analysis in this book is very superficial. It is not written FOR conductors. It is written BY a conductor and intended for the layperson.

Would you be willing to try another book from Gerard Schwarz? Why or why not?

No. The title of the audiobook is misleading, and I do not intend to continue to be misled.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

Was Conductor's Guide to Stravinsky's Petrouchka & The Rite of Spring worth the listening time?

See answer above. Not a waste of time, but not what the title led me to believe it to be.