author
Walter Raymond Spalding
1865–1962
A longtime Harvard music teacher and writer, he helped generations of listeners approach classical music with curiosity instead of intimidation. His best-known books blend clear explanation with a deep love of musical form and style.
1 Audiobook
Music: An Art and a Language
by Walter Raymond Spalding
About the author
Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1865, Walter Raymond Spalding became an American musicologist, organist, choir director, and composer. He studied at Harvard, earning an A.B. in 1887 and an A.M. in 1888, and later continued his musical training in Europe.
Spalding taught music at Harvard from 1895 to 1932 and served as chair of the Music Department from 1906 to 1932. Alongside his academic work, he wrote books meant to open up music for general readers, including Music: An Art and a Language and Music at Harvard: A Historical Review of Men and Events.
His writing is remembered for making serious music feel approachable without talking down to the reader. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1962, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both scholarly care and a teacher's instinct for clarity.