*** With a foreword by James Naughtie Within the pages of this book lie musical prescriptions that offer comfort, solace and strength in the face of dark times. Whether you suffer from loneliness or laziness, from bereavement or betrayal, a heartbreak or a mere hangover, here you'll find the perfect piece of classical music to heal the heart, soothe the soul and cure the maladies of the modern world. Musician and writer Oliver Condy takes the role of musical physician, using his years of experience to prescribe remedies for all manner of ailments in the form of classical music. A beautifully-packaged gift book with more than 100 recommendations, Symphonies for the Soul is filled with fascinating stories behind the pieces and composers selected, and how in their own unique ways they can nourish the spirit in times of need.

Set primarily in New York City's Soho neighborhood, the story tells of the work and loves of a number of friends and neighbors. They all must respond to the unexpected death of one of them from a heart attack. Several are musicians, several others are writers, or work pursuing other creative careers. The unexpected loss prompts them to look at their lives, and at life in general, as they share and mourn, and as they remember events in their lives that stirred them deeply. How will they adequately commemorate their friend, and how will they find fulfillment through love and work in their own lives?

An A-Z of ailments - physical, mental and spiritual - and the classical music that will cure the body and soothe the soul They say that music has charms to soothe a savage beast, but can it cure a broken heart? Oliver Condy takes the role of musical diagnostician in Symphonies for the Soul, using his years of experience to prescribe classical music remedies for all manner of ailments. Whether you have been struck down with a case of the common cold, are suffering from burnout or reeling from a humiliation, there is a piece of classical music to restore you. A beautifully-packaged gift book with more than 100 recommendations, as well as stories behind the pieces and composers selected.

The Mozart Effect refers to the idea that listening to classical music, particularly the compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, can enhance our mood and cognitive abilities. Numerous studies have shown that classical music has a positive effect on our brain, boosting creativity, memory, and overall well-being. It has been found that listening to Mozart's music can even enhance spatial-temporal reasoning, leading to improved problem-solving skills.

How to use music to produce well-being, create uplifting moods and enhance mystical states of consciousness.

Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year Time magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007 Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007 A Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2007 In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties; from Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies up to the present. Taking readers into the labyrinth of modern style, Ross draws revelatory connections between the century's most influential composers and the wider culture. The Rest Is Noise is an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.

"As A Boy, Claude Rawlings looks up through the grated window of his basement apartment to watch the world go by. Poor, lonely, supported by a taxi-driver mother whose eccentricities spin more and more out of control, he faces the terrible task of growing up on the margins of life, destined to be a spectator of that great world always hurrying out of reach. But there is an out-of-tune piano in the small apartment, and in unlocking the secrets of its keys, as if by magic, Claude discovers himself. He is a musical prodigy." "Body & Soul is the story of a young man whose life is transformed by a gift. The gift is not without price - the work is relentless, the teachers exacting - but the reward is a journey that takes him to the drawing rooms of the rich and powerful, private schools, a gilt-edged marriage, and Carnegie Hall. Claude moves through this life as if he were playing a difficult composition, swept up in its drama and tension, surprised by its grace notes. Music, here, becomes a character in its own right, equaled in strength only by the music of Frank Conroy's own unmistakable and true voice." "Bristling with character and invention, Body & Soul is Dickensian in its range and richness. This is a novel with all the emotional appeal and moral gravity of a classic bildungsroman, but with a tone as contemporary as a jazz riff - an unforgettable achievement by one of the great writers of our time."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved