1812 And all That

A Concise History of Music from 30.000 BC to the Millennium
By Lawrence Leonard
Cartoons by Emma Bebbington

The only date in this history of music is in the title. This leaves space for really important considerations such as the effect of the side drum on the Russian Revolution and the influence of the Times Atlas on the development of opera. It examines why Glinka's Russlan & Ludmilla Overture is suitable for boiling eggs, whereas Mozart's overture to The Magic Flute is not, and ponders the influence of Haydn's wife on the development of sonata form. It also makes clear the position held by the camel in Italian opera and why Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is so loud.