The Classical Music Experience With Web Site: Discover the Music of the World's Greatest Composers

Hear and Discover the sounds and stories of 65 great composers

The Classical Music Experience tells the stories of the world's most celebrated composers, ranging from Bach to Bernstein, including the works of Hayden, Beethoven, Rossini, Chopin, Brahms, Britten, Rachmaninoff and more. It weaves 500 years of history and music into a rich tapestry of sound and story unlike any other book of its kind.

On an exclusive web site, Kevin Kline guides you through illuminating excerpts of the music of the world's greatest composers. Plus, you'll get access to all the music featured in the book from Naxos, the world's leading classical music label, at Naxos.com.

You'll learn that:

--George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was commissioned by a bandleader to prove that jazz could be socially acceptable if dressed in symphonic clothing.

--The rhythm of the opening four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony spells out the letter "V" in Morse code and came to stand for "Victory" to the Allies during World War II.

--Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring inspired a riot in the concert hall at its premiere in Paris on May 29, 1913.

...and much more!

Dr. Julius H. Jacobson II is an internationally known vascular surgeon. He is widely regarded as the father of microsurgery for his pioneering work in the reconstruction of small blood vessels. This has directly led to coronary bypass surgery and the re-implantation of limbs and digits. About half of all neurosurgical operations employ the technique.

Dr. Jacobson is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and trained at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. He is now Director Emeritus of Vascular Surgery and Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He has five degrees, two of them honorary, but alas, none of them in music, one of his greatest loves.