author
Alfredo Untersteiner
1859–1918
An Italian writer and music historian, he is best remembered for making the long story of music feel readable and lively for general audiences. His best-known works trace the development of music and the violin across centuries with a clear, practical touch.
1 Audiobook
Storia della musica
by Alfredo Untersteiner
About the author
Born in 1859 and active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Alfredo Untersteiner was an Italian author known for writing accessible books on music history. Reference records and library catalogs identify him as the author of Storia della musica and A Short History of Music, a work that brought his overview of musical history to English-language readers.
He also collaborated on Storia del violino, dei violinisti e della musica per violino, showing a particular interest in the violin and its place in musical culture. His work focused less on personal memoir or criticism and more on giving readers a broad, organized sense of how musical forms, composers, and traditions developed over time.
Untersteiner died in 1918. Although he is not a widely profiled literary figure today, his books remain of interest to readers who enjoy older, compact introductions to music history and want to hear how the subject was explained in his era.