20th century classical music

Written by The Observer's classical music critic Fiona Maddocks, '20th Century Classical Music' will take you on an acoustic journey through history with a curated playlist on each page.

At the turn of the century, Schoenberg pioneered classical music designed to challenge rather than soothe.

Next came Stravinsky's sensational Rite of Spring, written on the eve of WWI that changed the course of all classical music that followed.

From the influence of the jazz age and the sounds of cities, the nationalism of folk revival, Russian revolutions from the Bolsheviks to Stalin, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, you'll learn how composers painted with a full orchestral palette to capture the sentiments of their time.