New York Times Bestseller An NPR Best Book of the Year Winner of the Chicago Tribune Literary Award Finalist for the Marfield Prize, National Award for Arts Writing "Reads the way Mr. Glass's compositions sound at their best: propulsive, with a surreptitious emotional undertow." —Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-twentieth-century classical music. Yet in Words Without Music, his critically acclaimed memoir, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice, that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness. Whether describing working as an unlicensed plumber in gritty 1970s New York or composing Satyagraha, Glass breaks across genres and re-creates, here in words, the thrill that results from artistic creation. Words Without Music ultimately affirms the power of music to change the world.

Book of Longing is Leonard Cohen's first book of new poetry since Book of Mercy was published two decades ago. It collects Cohen's poetry written between the 1980s and the present, and also includes his wonderfully witty and sensuous illustrations, including numerous playful self-portraits. The illustrations interact with, and complement, the poetry in unexpected and fascinating ways. Book of Longing demonstrates the range and depth of Cohen's work, revealing an extraordinary gift of language and visual art that speak with rare clarity, passion and timelessness.

The study of music within multimedia contexts has become an increasingly active area of scholarly research. However, the application of such studies to musical genres outside the 'classical' film canon, or in television and other media remains largely unexplored in any detail. Tristian Evans demonstrates how postminimal music interacts with other media forms, focusing on the film music by Philip Glass, but also taking into account works by other composers such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley, John Adams and others inspired by minimalist and postminimal practices. Additionally, Evans develops innovative ways of analysing this music, based on an interdisciplinary approach, and draws on research from areas that include philosophy, linguistics and film theory. The book offers one of the first in-depth studies of Philip Glass's music for film, considering The Hours and Dracula, Naqoyqatsi, Notes on a Scandal and Watchmen, while examining re-applications of the music in new cinematic and televisual contexts. The book will appeal to musicologists but also to those working in the fields of film music, cultural studies, media studies and multimedia.

Offers the most detailed account yet of the early works of these four minimalist composers.

Talking Music is comprised of substantial original conversations with seventeen American experimental composers and musicians—including Milton Babbitt, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, and John Zorn—many of whom rarely grant interviews.The author skillfully elicits candid dialogues that encompass technical explorations; questions of method, style, and influence; their personal lives and struggles to create; and their aesthetic goals and artistic declarations. Herein, John Cage recalls the turning point in his career; Ben Johnston criticizes the operas of his teacher Harry Partch; La Monte Young attributes his creative discipline to a Morman childhood; and much more. The results are revelatory conversations with some of America's most radical musical innovators.

A futuristic reimaging of the classic Greek myth, as a boy ventures through deep space and challenges the awesome power of black holes. The beauty of the book lies in the images, provided by NASA and the Hubble Space telescope, and printed on board rather than paper.

Philip Glass, composer of symphonies, operas (Einstein on the Beach, Akhnaten, Orphe), film scores (Kundun, Mishima, Koyaanisqatsi), songs, and music for dance is a musician who determined early on that he wanted to compose independently, apart from institutions. That decision has made him a controversial figure among academic musicians, in spite of his rigorous training at Juilliard, and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Richard Kostelanetz has gathered a lively and varied collection of writings about Philip Glass's work, along with several interviews and a conversation between Glass and sculptor Richard Serra. The chronology of the works and discography have been updated for the paperback edition. Philip Glass, composer of symphonies, operas (Einstein on the Beach, Akhnaten, Orphe), film scores (Kundun, Mishima, Koyaanisqatsi), songs, and music for dance is a musician who determined early on that he wanted to compose independently, apart from institutions. That decision has made him a controversial figure among academic musicians, in spite of his rigorous training at Juilliard, and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Richard Kostelanetz has gathered a lively and varied collection of writings about Philip Glass's work, along with several interviews and a conversation between Glass and sculptor Richard Serra. The chronology of the works and discography have been updated for the paperback edition.