The Classical Music Book

What is a symphony? How does a fugue work? Why do some chord progressions feel like resolution and others like yearning? What made Bach different from Handel, Beethoven from Haydn, Mahler from Brahms? DK’s The Classical Music Book answers all of these questions — and many more — in the visual, accessible, authoritative style that has made the DK reference format beloved around the world.

Spanning more than a thousand years of Western art music, from Gregorian chant to the avant-garde of the twentieth century, the book profiles over ninety composers with biographical detail, musical analysis, and the visual context — images of scores, instruments, concert halls, and historical settings — that brings each figure and each era to life. Key works are explored in detail, with listening guides that help even non-musicians understand what they are hearing.

The perfect gift for music lovers at every level — and the ideal introduction to classical music for anyone who has always wanted to understand it better. Beautifully produced and enduringly useful. Published by DK.