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

Levine, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1579121489 ISBN 13: 9781579121488

Publisher: Workman Kids, 2000

Synopsis

Eye-catching illustrations and an accompanying 70-minute CD make this an exciting and educational introduction to the world of classical music-from composers and music history to the instruments of the orchestra-for elementary age children (and parents, too!).



Illustrated in exquisite and colorful detail with over 100 original drawings and photographs, the engaging text is broken into three sections:

• An introduction to each instrument of the orchestra from the cello to the timpani
• The stories of famous composers from Bach to Stravinsky.
• An explanation of different musical styles from Baroque to Modern.

Each step of the way, children can listen to actual musical examples of what they are learning about. Young readers will hear the sound of an actual violin as they study the instrument and enjoy the playful tune of a Mozart minuet as they read about the composer's precocious exploits as a child.

Join Orchestra Bob on this fun and exciting musical journey. Perfect for young students just starting to play an orchestral instrument as well as for parents and teachers looking for a simple introduction to the principles and history of classical music.

About this title

About the Author

Meredith Hamilton graduated from Brown University and has an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. Formerly an art director at Newsweek and Time, she illustrated the previous six books in the Child's Introduction series, among other books, and her work can be found in magazines and animations as well. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and three children.

Author Robert Levine is an internationally known music and travel writer whose work has appeared in dozens of publications. He was the co-editor of Records' Classical Pulse! Magazine, helped launch and was the Senior Editor-in-chief of Andante.com, a world wide web site devoted to every aspect of classical music and musicians. He attends his operas and symphonies in New York.

From the Back Cover

Orchestra Bob Takes You on a Fun and Exciting Journey Through the World of Classical Music...

Along the way you'll:

Listen to the greatest works in classical music and hear each instrument of the orchestra andlearn 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.

From the Inside Flap

The Story of the Orchestra

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.

Reviews

Gr 4-8-Orchestra Bob guides readers through a delightful musical journey. The book is divided into two major parts: composers from Vivaldi to Bernstein and their associated musical periods, and the instruments of the orchestra. There are interesting and sometimes humorous bits of information about the men, their music, and corresponding historical events. The last two pages introduce the conductor. Quotations, boxed definitions, and the captions that accompany the colorful photos and spot cartoon drawings enhance the instructive text. In some places, however, the drawings are in stark contrast to the photos and take away from the overall appearance of a page. An accompanying CD provides musical selections for readers to listen to at specific places in the text. These selections are short enough to keep young listeners' attention. Although some well-known figures, such as Handel, Schubert, and Strauss, are missing, this is a fun way to travel through the world of music.

Susan Shaver, Hemingford Public Schools, NE

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-7. Orchestra Bob--a dapper figure in a dove-gray tux--introduces young people first to the development and history of orchestral music and a number of famous composers and then to the instruments of the orchestra by section. Each page or two is keyed to a brief selection on an accompanying CD that illustrates the musical idea or instrument discussed. Text and images are extremely lively: the drawings are whimsical and often amusing; the photographs of the individual instruments are clear and clearly labeled. Text rarely extends for more than a paragraph or two before a box, a quote, or a related comment appears, making the pages very inviting. Children will absorb how various instruments are held and played. Levine relates the sound and sense of music in ways children will respond to easily: a quote describes the double bass as sounding like chocolate. The CD excerpts are crisply presented--one would wish to know who recorded them. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Workman Kids
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1579121489
• ISBN 13: 9781579121488
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Hamilton Meredith
• Number of pages: 96