A History of the World in 50 Pieces: The Classical Music That Shapes Us

Music transports us and defines us. As a form of expression, it has been passed down through oral tradition, musical notation and recordings in a chain of connection that spans the globe, across the millennia. A History of the World in 100 Pieces follows that chain, collating 100 examples of classical music that reflect our changing politics, social structures and technological development, and how composers, musicians and listeners have shaped those currents of history.

From folk songs to national anthems, Beethoven to Florence Price, fifteenth-century French opera to 1970s experimental piano works, Tom Service offers a fresh take on pieces everyone knows and many more they might not. With each short, sharp analysis, he expands the typical canon and tests the boundaries of what we understand to be ‘classical music’ – or even music at all, such as the sounds of the earth’s rotation as recorded by sound artist Jez riley French.

An official BBC Radio 3 publication, A History of the World in 100 Pieces is a book for anyone curious about the power of music and how it shapes us and connects us.

Explore how music has changed our world through 50 pieces across classical, folk and world traditions with BBC presenter Tom Service, in this official Radio 3 compendium. Music transports us and defines us. As a form of expression, it has been passed down through oral tradition, musical notation and recordings in a chain of connection that spans the globe, across the millennia. A History of the World in 50 Pieces follows that chain, collating 50 pieces of classical music that reflect our changing politics, social structures and technological development, and how composers, musicians and listeners have shaped those currents of history. From Bach to Beethoven, Songlines to Saariaho, Hildegard of Bingen to the Happy Birthday song, Tom Service offers a fresh take on pieces that many of us think we know, and many more we might not. With each short, sharp analysis, he expands the typical canon and tests the boundaries of what we understand to be ‘classical music’ – or even music at all, such as the sounds of the earth’s rotation, and the songs of humpback whales. An official BBC Radio 3 publication, A History of the World in 50 Pieces is a book for anyone curious about the power of music and how it shapes us and connects us.

• | Author: Tom Service
• | Publisher: Ebury Publishing
• | Publication Date: Nov 13, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781785949371
• | ISBN-10: 1785949373