Story of the Orchestra : Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music! - Hardcover

Along the way you'll:

Listen to the greatest works in classical music and hear each instrument of the orchestra and learn fun facts about the music, composers and musicians, including:

• Bach wasn't famous until 100 years after he died
• Some people think that years of playing the oboe can make you crazy
• Beethoven was totally deaf by the time he wrote the famous 9th Symphony
• The contrabassoon would be 16 feet tall if unwound
• Copland composed at night and on weekends and had a day job as an insurance agent

Play track 1 to hear Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. This is the moment in grand German opera that everyone finds easy to make fun of: In the mythological world of Wagner's opera Die Walkure, nine sisters (yes, the ones wearing horned helmets) on horseback fallen heroes. The looks may be silly, but the music is powerful, thrilling and vivid- the galloping of the horses is almost visual in the music.

I'm Orchestra Bob and I'm here to lead you on an exciting journey through the world of classical music. Listen, learn and enjoy as I cue powerful works from the greatest composers in the world. Along the way, I'll tell you wonderful and wacky stories about deaf composers, quirky musicians and the inspirations behind the great works.

You'll hear Wagner's powerful Ride of the Valkyries and imagine the warrior goddesses on horseback storming through the battlefields. Beethoven will inspire you with selections from his two most famous pieces, the 5th and 9th symphonies, and you'll tap your toes to Bernstein's jazzy dance music from West Side Story.

Then, I'll introduce you to the beautiful instruments of the orchestra from common ones that you have probably seen and heard to rare and weird-looking ones that produce strange sounds. It's my honor to take you on this grand journey, and I think you'll find it as thrilling as I do.