Music critic Fiona Maddocks has compiled more than 100 essential classical pieces, divided them into eleven themed sections (including "Childhood, Youth"; "Change"; "War, Resistance"; and "Time Passing"), and composed short, one-page descriptions of each piece, making the music accessible to even the most casual audience. Meant to be a companion to your own listening and interpretation, every work included in the book is found easily online (Maddocks includes a link to her own site with the complete collection), so that you can experience the music for yourself as you read—or simply for your own pleasure. Enjoy familiar names, such as Mozart and Beethoven, and more obscure composers like Birtwhistle and Takemitsu, and expand your musical horizons!