The Development of Western Music: A History.Third Edition

by K. Marie Stolba

Stolba offers a chronological presentation of the sweep of Western music and its composers, beginning with the music of antiquity and proceeding to the 20th Century. Since any discussion of the evolution of music is not complete without also discussing events that influenced that evolution, this comprehensive text integrates information about historical periods, cultures, and artistic movements. Fine art reproductions, detailed maps and chronologies, newly designed in this edition, also help students place the musical discussions in their cultural, geographical, and historical contexts. Along with its newly recorded CD sets and accompanying 2-volume anthology, The Development of Western Music offers a coordinated presentation of the diverse range of Western music and its composers.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

736 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 1990

Reviews

[David]

Since, of all art forms, I find music to move me the deepest I thought I would explore some of the technical theory behind it. The relationships to math are astounding, who knew that harmonics and patterns with mathematical cores could have such profound impact on the soul. MATH>>>>SOUL.

A lot of the structures of early Western Classical music is related to the Catholic church- I learned a fair amount about the structures of Catholic ritual and the accompanying music. So much devotion.

The book gave me a good primer but I will not actually finish it- its a text book and I'm not in a class- who was I kidding?

[mensch · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and comprehensive overview of the development of Western music through the ages, starting from the Greeks to dodecaphony and further. The book is rather technical at times, so some passages are not easy to follow for someone who can't read notes or is oblivious to the musical jargon. One should get a hold of the separate, optional audio anthology as some of the musical examples are best explained by listening to them.