20th Century Classical Music

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, 20th Century Classical Music is an accessible, authoritative, and entertaining introduction to the music that captured the defining moments of the contemporary world.
Written by The Observer's classical music critic Fiona Maddocks, 20th Century Classical Music will take you on an acoustic journey through history with a curated playlist on each page.
At the turn of the century, Schoenberg pioneered classical music designed to challenge rather than soothe. Next came Stravinsky's sensational Rite of Spring, written on the eve of WWI that changed the course of all classical music that followed.
From the influence of the jazz age and the sounds of cities, the nationalism of folk revival, Russian revolutions from the Bolsheviks to Stalin, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, you'll learn how composers painted with a full orchestral palette to capture the sentiments of their time.

Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture.
For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.