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 catalogue. CD version includes CD-ROM element which contains text, pictures of composers, glossary of terms & more. An AUDIO-ORIGINAL read by 2005 MacArthur Fellowship recipient and music director for the 2007 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
The Story of Classical Music
Darren Henley
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Great Book - Poor Sound
As someone who has just started seriously exploring classical music, this audio book was a great listen. My children also enjoyed listening to the music. Unfortunately, the sound quality of the music clips, which are interspersed throughout suffer from digital distortion. This is caused because the MP3s are encoded at too low a bit rate---64kbps. eMusic's customer service reports that this issue has been reported to the content department and that labels will need to be contacted before this issue can be resolved. When this will happen is far from clear. I recommend the audiobook, but until eMusic fixes the sound quality issue, look elsewhere to download. 12/26/2008
Recommended
An excellent blend of words and musical samples. Pitched at youth -- based on the feel of Marin Alsop's narration, I would say bright middle-schoolers or high schoolers. Easy to listen to in bursts of 15 or 20 minutes, which is how I listened to it.