If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Have you ever wondered why a single musical premiere in 1913 was so provocative that it actually triggered a full-scale riot in the streets of Paris?
- Did you know that some of the twentieth century’s most influential compositions were secretly shaped by the high-stakes political agendas of the world’s most notorious dictators?
- Are you curious about how the 'noise' of modern life—from world wars to technological revolutions—was transformed into the groundbreaking soundtracks we listen to today?
Listen to The Rest Is Noise — Free Audiobook
Loading player...
Key Takeaways from The Rest Is Noise
- Discover how twentieth-century classical music reflects its historical context, evolving from lavish Wagnerian operas to modern sounds amid extreme political divisions and global wars.
- Learn how Richard Strauss's opera Salome shattered musical norms by introducing shocking dissonance and the 'devil in music,' ushering in a bold new era of composition.
- Understand the unique way Gustav Mahler pushed avant-garde boundaries in his Sixth Symphony by blending traditional forms with militaristic beats and massive percussion.
- Explore the historical tension between popular box-office success and avant-garde innovation through the complex rivalries of early modern composers.
- Find out why Arnold Schoenberg pioneered radical atonality in Vienna, using extreme dissonance to challenge bourgeois values and express deep personal turmoil.
The Rest Is Noise — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: In Wagner’s lingering shadow, modern classical music advanced boldly, propelled forward by the groundbreaking compositions and dramas of Richard Strauss.
Chapter 3: Mahler’s Sixth Symphony met the avant-garde unlike Strauss’s Salome did.
Chapter 4: In Vienna, Schoenberg emerged as a radical, dissonant, highly influential voice.
Chapter 5: Stravinsky soared to fame with The Firebird and The Rite of Spring.
Chapter 6: Post–World War I, Europe craved a new sound from Paris, arriving together with strong jazz influences and colors.
Chapter 7: In the United States, with classical music seen as European, composers embraced jazz or wrote for Broadway.
Chapter 8: In pre–World War II Berlin, musical style politics mirrored the era’s deep divisions throughout society at-large.
Chapter 9: Politics shaped music in Stalinist Russia and in an America uneasy about Communism.
Chapter 10: In FDR’s America, composers argued over what music should be made while a wave of European refugees rapidly arrived stateside.
Chapter 11: In postwar Germany, the Darmstadt School emerged, as the avant-garde became increasingly aggressive and brash.
Chapter 12: Minimalism sprang from the American West Coast and rooted itself in New York’s bohemian art scene.
Chapter 13: John Cage dismantled classical composition while minimalism presented a path forward.
Chapter 14: The influence of twentieth-century classical music still deeply permeates today’s eclectic popular music.
The Rest Is Noise Summary & Overview
The Rest Is Noise (2011) takes you on a musical journey through the twentieth century, from the game-changing work of Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky to the minimalist compositions of John Cale and Philip Glass. Author Alex Ross puts modern classical music into eye-opening perspective, chronicling the revolutionary changes and how they were influenced by the tumultuous events of the 1900s.
Who Should Listen to The Rest Is Noise?
- Music buffs and fans of classical music
- Anyone interested in the history of the twentieth century
- Scholars of contemporary art
Books Similar to The Rest Is Noise
Readers who enjoyed this also liked these titles.
Wagnerism
★ 4.5 / 5 • 66 ratingsArt and Politics in the Shadow of Music
Noise
★ 4.4 / 5 • 125 ratingsLiving and Leading When Nobody Can Focus
The Ignorant Maestro
★ 4.2 / 5 • 16 ratingsHow Great Leaders Inspire Unpredictable Brilliance
The Raging 2020s
★ 3.8 / 5 • 95 ratingsCompanies, Countries, People – and the Fight for Our Future