From ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings & modern art, this volume explores the depiction of music, musical instruments & musical performance in Western art through the ages.

"The Art of Music takes the relationship between two of the more prominent and oft-intersecting branches of artistic creation as its subject. The liaison between music and the visual arts has inspired countless generations of artists. The two have had manifold complex interactions across all periods of history, in Western and non-Western contexts alike, yet their intersection has only become a rich vein for research by art historians and musicologists in the last thirty years. By tracing these relationships, new insights into the affinities of the arts become clear"--

Music as an Art begins by examining music through a philosophical lens, engaging in discussions about tonality, music and the moral life, music and cognitive science and German idealism, as well as recalling the author's struggle to encourage his students to distinguish the qualities of good music. Scruton then explains – via erudite chapters on Schubert, Britten, Rameau, opera and film – how we can develop greater judgement in music, recognising both good taste and bad, establishing musical values, as well as musical pleasures. As Scruton argues in this book, in earlier times, our musical culture had secure foundations in the church, the concert hall and the home; in the ceremonies and celebrations of ordinary life, religion and manners. Yet we no longer live in that world. Fewer people now play instruments and music is, for many, a form of largely solitary enjoyment. As he shows in Music as an Art, we live at a critical time for classical music, and this book is an important contribution to the debate, of which we stand in need, concerning the place of music in Western civilization.

Art loves music: From the tombs of Ancient Egypt to the late 20th century, painting and sculpture have played their variations on musical themes. Tom Phillips examines masterpieces from the history of the visual arts that have been inspired by music. In a series of colorful images we meet the music-makers -- the men and women who, in the act of playing and listening to music, have provided rich subject matter for artists throughout the centuries. The long affair between these arts had its passionate moments. The orchestral angels of the Renaissance and the seraphic choristers of the Baroque yield to the domestic music-making of the masters of the Dutch interior. The pastoral concerts of Venetian and French artists of the 17th and 18th centuries give way to the Impressionists and the still lifes and soloists of Cubism. Finally, the musical abstractions of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky lead to the often-ironic or iconoclastic references to music in the experimental art of the end of this century. Tom Phillips seeks out these colorful meetings between the sister arts and spins an intriguing web of anecdote and interpretation to link them through the ages. As an artist, he understands how pictures are made and as a writer he can convey this understanding with humor and clarity. Since he is also a composer in his own right his insights have the added value of musical authenticity as well as artistic authority. Each of the 50 short essays focuses on a particular work of art or contrasts two or more approaches to a similar theme. A diverse range of artists is featured, including Rembrandt, Leonardo, Veronese, Titian, Caravaggio, Renoir, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso. We are introduced tocomposers who are painters, and painters who are accomplished musicians, and learn how their thoughts can often provide the key to understanding musical and artistic styles.

Jean-Michel Pilc, jazz pianist and faculty member of Steinhardt School, New York University, has written a remarkable book about the artistic and creative process in the arts. The conversational style well suits the wide ranging topic which draws examples from art and music both classical and jazz. A beautifully expressed work on a subject otherwise impossible to write about. Hailed by musicians around the world as enlightened and inspirational.

Music and Modern Art adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between these two fields of creative endeavor.