The Musical Human
- Author Michael Spitzer
- Narrator Daniel Levitin
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
- Run Time 17 hours and 18 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre General and world history, History, History of music, Music, Social and cultural anthropology, Society and Social Sciences, The Arts.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- €9.95
- €8.95
- €7.95
- €6.95
- €5.95
Listen to a sample
What to expect
'Full of delightful nuggets' Guardian online
'Entertaining, informative and philosphical ... An essential read' All About History
'Extraordinary range ... All the world and more is here' Evening Standard
165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm.
66 million years ago came the first melody.
40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument.
Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet it is an overlooked part of our origin story.
The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages – from Bach to BTS and back – to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, from global history to our everyday lives, from insects to apes, humans to artificial intelligence.
'Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music' Daniel Levitin
'A thrilling exploration of what music has meant and means to humankind' Ian Bostridge
Critics Review
-
Entertaining, informative and philosophical … An essential read
All About History Magazine -
Extraordinary range … All the world and more is here
Julian Glover -
An ambitious and total history of music
Daily Telegraph -
Full of delightful nuggets … sends the reader back to a world of musical examples time and time again
Guardian -
Extraordinary … Ranging from the Geissenklösterle caves to K-Pop, from the lost music of the Aztecs to the role of song in hunter-gatherer societies, and drawing on a vast array of specialisations, from archaeoacoustics to ornithology, Spitzer utilises a breath-taking variety of sources … The Musical Human will make you think differently about music, about its place in your life and about its importance to human life tout court
Literary Review -
Bold, compelling and ear-opening
New Statesman
More from the same
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.