The history of music in fifty instruments

Philip Wilkinson, 1955-

Book - 2014

Groups of people have been bringing assorted instruments together since music was first played, but it is only over the last few centuries that this has been formalized to create what we think of as the orchestra. Over the years composers have written music with particular instruments in mind, and the orchestra has gradually evolved along with classical music itself. This book charts that evolution, profiling the instruments that have joined the orchestra from the Baroque era of the 1600's ...up to the modern age. The origin and development of each instrument is described, while annotated photographs bring their workings to life. From the violin to the piccolo, the full range of orchestral sound is explored, including instruments only rarely heard in the orchestra, such as the synthesizer. The instrument-makers who make them, the famous composers who wrote for them and the virtuoso musicians who have played them all make an appearance in this beautifully illustrated guide. more