这本书是目前西方音乐史书籍中最新，最具时代性的论著之一，正如本书的书名所提示我们的，作者并没有把音乐作为纯粹的专业化的，独立的文化现象加以讨论，而是在广阔的文化背景之下，深入探索音乐和社会文化之间的关系。

节选自译者序

This book is an abridged and slightly altered edition of A History of Music in Western Culture(Prentice Hall 2003). Like the original text, It rests on the premise that the history of music is best conveyed by focusing on a carefully selected repertory of musical works. Once familiar with a representative body of music, students can better grasp the requisite names, dates, and concepts of music history, including an understanding of evolution of musical styles and music's changing uses within the Western tradition. Even more importantly, students will gain a sound basic from which to explore other musical works and repertories.