Great music is great because it is the marriage of an individual gift and a moment in time
No important composer has been immune to the movements of his or her time. Masterpieces in music are not simply beautiful or powerful: they express their age better than words or pictures can because they articulate human feelings at times of immense change and upheaval. From Mozart’s last year and his infamous requiem to Shostakovitch’s devastating 5th Symphony – the music has a story to tell. More than a ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ years kaleidoscope for classical music, Howard Goodall’s Great Dates is an examination of musical masterworks in their context – political, historical, social and cultural.
