"The lives and music of the great composers of classical music unfold in this entertaining account, introduced by singer and presenter Aled Jones. In 1200 years, classical music grew from the chanting of medieval monks through the symphonies of Beethoven and the grand operas of Wagner to the huge orchestral sound-world of the 21st century, with its electronics and its film music. In his easy-going style, Aled Jones paints vivid portraits of over 80 composers, each one illustrated with some of his, or her, most famous music. This all-encompassing introduction to classical music also includes a wealth of biographical and instrumental information on the CD-ROM element: put CD 4 into the computer and up will come pictures, articles, sheet music, quizzes and more, which will inform and fascinate the whole family."
"The first volume of Famous Composers written by Darren Henley and read by Marin Alsop, the American conductor, won a prestigious Audie in the US. Here, Henley and the Naxos AudioBooks team bring the combination of an entertaining but informative 'life' and numerous musical selections to a further set of six composers."
"Following on the success of The Story of Classical Music, Darren Henley and Aled Jones combine forces again to tell, in more detail, the lives of six key composers Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvo?ák and Shostakovich. Their colourful lives and their love of music is told against the backdrop of some of their finest works - an ideal combination."
