The Rest Is Noise cover art

The Rest Is Noise

Listening to the 20th Century

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Rest Is Noise

By: Alex Ross
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £21.92

Buy Now for £21.92

LIMITED TIME OFFER

£0.99/mo for 3 months - terms apply. Offer ends 24 August 2026.
The Rest Is Noise takes the listener inside the labyrinth of modern music, from turn-of-the-century Vienna to downtown New York in the '60s and '70s. We meet the maverick personalities and follow the rise of mass culture on this sweeping tour of 20th-century history through its music.

Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including two ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for music criticism. In addition, he was named a 2008 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, given for achievements in creativity and potential for making important future cultural contributions.

©2007 Alex Ross (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Art Music World Entertainment Imperialism Middle Ages Opera Socialism
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

  • National Book Critics Circle Award, Criticism, 2007
All stars
Most relevant
Good book and well narrated. It provides a comprehensive view of 20th Century music.

Highly Recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book but as an audiobook, it's a shame that no snippets of songs were included when discussing specific chapters. It would have made the experience much more insightful. The author has a companion site where such snippets are available, so it would have been great to merge it with the audiobook

Great book but audiobook missed its opportunity

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is extremely well researched and delivered.

However, those looking for a broad study on 20th century music should note that this book focuses on classical music. Other forms are touched on (particularly jazz) but the vast majority is a study of classical music. I didn't get that from the reviews I read and was expecting more on blues, soul, reggae and hip-hop.

That's not to fault the book. It broadened by horizons and was a fascinating read but if you are looking for a wider study you may have to look elsewhere.

Excellent but classically focused book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The greatest complement I can pay to this title is it made me want to go and listen to the classical music of the twentieth century. The story is clearly told and well structured, taking the listener from R Strauss' Salome to modern minialism and beyond. It certainly helped my appreciation of some very difficult pieces as well as helping to point out the seminal works. I could quibble that some composers such as Elgar and Rachmaninov bearly get a look in because, although they are popular, they don't fit the mainstream of modernism. Also if every there was an audiobook that cried out for musical samples, this was it. But I would recommend it to anyone wanting to gain an understanding of what has happen to composition in the last 100 years.

Modern classical music made more accessable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great content! Inspiring story.Poor narrator ruin the joy of the book. I hope they will have a new audible version to do the book justice.

Great content. Poor narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews