Story Of Classical Music Read Free Books and Download eBooks
This lively recording is a perfect way to introduce classical music to the entire family. It looks at the music through the lives of the great composers and their environment, from the churches and cathedrals that produced the familiar sound of Gregorian chant, to Johann Sebastian Bach, the family man composing for the glory of God, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the child prodigy, genius and prankster who wrote some of the finest music ever yet was buried in a pauper's grave. The story will be taken to the composers of the 21st century. This unusual and special production by the two most important brand names in classical music includes more than 100 musical examples taken from the extensive Naxos catalog. INCLUDES CD-ROM ELEMENT CONTAINING TEXT, PICTURES OF COMPOSERS, GLOSSARY OF TERMS & MORE.
Audio CD
Publisher: Naxos Records; Unabridged edition (June 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9626343109
ISBN-13: 978-9626343104
Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 5 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #69 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Music & Photography > Music > Classical #83 in Books > Books on CD > Children's Fiction > Music #1924 in Books > Books on CD > General
Age Range: 8 and up
Grade Level: 3 and up
Naxos already has a wonderful set of CDs giving us a fairly detailed "History of Classical Music" by Richard Fawkes (NA 414012). But now a similar set has been released for a younger audience, "The Story of Classical Music" (NA331012). The text is by Darren Henley and it is read engagingly by conductor Marin Alsop. It uses some 150 musical examples and a good deal of silly sound effects like J.S.Bach walking over 200 miles to hear an organ or (more distastefully) a comic chop of the ax when thus and so were beheaded. But the music is well chosen-albeit too few examples are used for major composers-from the bottomless Naxos catalogue; and it covers the centuries from Gregorian chant right up to the film music for "Gladiator" and "Lord of the Rings." It is hard to say what age group is the target audience of this set; but I think many adults who know little or nothing about the world's greatest music and the men who created it (alas, women composers were simply too few and/or unrecognized to get into anthologies like this one) will appreciate this approach. It does not dumb things down (except for those sound effects) and even I learned a thing or two about some of my favorite pieces. Best of all is a slew of CD-ROM features on the last disc that provide extra information and pictures about the composers, the instruments of the classical orchestra, national anthems and flags, scores, the text of the CDs, musical terms, and several more. Please consider this as a thoughtful gift to an interested youngster-or to one who just might become interested. Good work
An amazing CD set. My kids haven't stopped asking for it. It is informative and entertaining and our whole family has learned quite a bit that we did not know before. It really introduces you to the composers and ties them together in time and space.
"The Story Of Classical Music" produced by Naxos AudioBooks is an excellent introduction to Classical music. The 4 CD set traces the origins and progression of classical music from the Medieval Period through the 20th century. "The Story Of Classical Music" is written by Darren Henley and read by Marin Alsop. Each CD is loaded with many wonderful musical excerpts/examples from the vast Naxos label and includes the Naxos catalog numbers next to each track as a convenience. Total playing times on the four CDs is 4 hours and 34 minutes. CD 4 doubles as an interactive CD-ROM chock full of extra great features, including the composers, musical instruments, national flags and anthems, and much more, with additional audio examples. Clearly, the text is written and read with older children in mind. However, this should not deter anyone from purchasing this comprehensive and enjoyable release. The whole family will love it. The price is also an unbelievable bargain. Highly recommended.
I am an adult; but relatively new to the world of classical music. I began listening and enjoying classical almost exclusively about 10 years ago. Having never studied music or it's history, this CD set is just great for me to learn more about the orgins of my 'new' favorite music. I recommend this set for young adults and old adults too!
A historical overview of classical music beginning over 1400 years ago with Gregorian chants and Hidegard von Bingen culminating with a brief listen to a snippet of the soundtracks from Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter must by its very breadth be an extremely cursory whirlwind tour that forgoes all attempts at depth or explanation. That said, no matter how informed or erudite the listener might be, THE STORY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC provides an entertaining 4 CD collection of musical excerpts that spans history, spans musical styles and spans the globe. From ancient to avant garde, from ridiculous to sublime, from pianissimo to con belto fortissimo - there's something here for everybody and a springboard from which any listener - no matter how young or old, no matter how educated or new to the listening of classical music - can leap into further researches in the ever broadening and ever changing field of classical music.Did you know that there is actually a performance piece of experimental classical music (and, no, I am not kidding) that is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence! The performer (presumably a concert pianist) enters the stage, sits down at the piano and does nothing for the duration of the piece. The music (such as it is) is presumed to be the background noises that occur in the concert hall! What do you think? Would you be clapping wildly when the performer took his bows? In honour of the nature of the piece, I'll stay silent on the name of the composer.Another juicy little tidbit! I wonder how many other fans of classical music there are like me who were blissfully unaware that the modern "Tea for Two" which virtually any adult in North America can hum was composed by the Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovitch. What a neat little piece of classical music trivia!To summarize, shallow and, of necessity, only informative or educational in passing but thoroughly entertaining and pleasant to listen to for the entire duration of the 4 CD production. Recommended.Paul Weiss
I bought this for my 5 year old violinist to help her connect Twinkle etc. to a bigger picture. She finds it fascinating and requests it very often, and is already developing her own preferences. There are a few things to be aware of: there is some mention of Wagner being pretty despicable, and so of course a little kid is going to immediately ask about that. Might want to have an idea of what you want to say. There is also an acknowledgement that in this great big list of famous and important composers, there are not many women -- but again it doesn't invite the listener to think about why. It can be useful to know how you want to help your kid think about that. My only other wish is that the track breaks were done so that you could go to the beginning of a piece of music, rather than having to fast forward through spoken intros. Kids like to hear a certain piece over and over while they're processing it.
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