The exhilarating mix of humour, philosophy, fact and whimsy that marks these essays derives from more than 200 lectures Bruce Adolphe has given over more of the past decade, at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre and at music festivals around the States. The composer of four operas as well as chamber music, concertos and orchestral works, Adolphe has written for Itzhak Perlman, David Shifrin, the Beaux Arts Trio, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and many other renowned musicians. His essays, however divergent their apparent subjects, all serve a common purpose: to deepen our understanding of how music comes to be and how it may be enjoyed.

The Mind's Ear offers a unique approach to stimulating the musical imagination and inspiring creativity, as well as providing detailed exercises aimed at improving the ability to read and imagine music in silence, in the "mind's ear." Modelling his exercises on those used in theatre games and acting classes and drawing upon years of experience with improvisation and composition, Bruce Adolphe has written a compelling, valuable, and practical guide to musical creativity that can benefit music students at all levels and help music teachers be more effective and inspiring. This expanded edition offers 34 new exercises inspired by improv comedy, hip-hop sampling and loops, robots, and AI as well as a new section based on Mr. Adolphe's Piano Puzzlers segment on public radio's Performance Today. The book provides provocative ideas and useful tools for professional performers and composers, as well as offering games and exercises to serious listeners that can increase their musical understanding and level of engagement with music in a variety of ways.

(Meredith Music Resource). Conducting-listening skills, harmonic and melodic content, ensemble sonority and expressive conducting are only a few of the insightful topics included in Ed Lisk's latest publication. The complexities of instrumental music as related to Howard Gardner's Theories of Multiple Intelligences are thoroughly discussed and provide an overwhelming foundation for the support of music in the schools. From philosophy to practicality, this book has it all!

After Newton died in 1727, a monument was erected in the Scientist's Corner of Westminster Abbey. It was decorated with a pile of four books and adorned with cherubs holding a prism, a telescope and newly minted coins. The implication is clear. Newton's towering intellect and god-given giftfor creative thinking was the origin of his inspiration. Not far away, at the front of the monument to Newton, is the tomb of Charles Darwin, who published On the Origin of Species, which first discussed the evolution of man. The proximity of the monuments is telling. If we are to define thesingle, most unique human attribute evolution has produced, it must be our ability to think creatively. Thinking is the ultimate human resource. Breaking through the barriers posed by dogma, and reaching beyond the limits of established patterns of thinking to discover what is new and useful isthe engine that drives society. This book, which had its genesis in a conference organized by Karl Pfenninger, and held at Aspen, Colorado, entitled 'Higher brain function, art and science: an interdisciplinary examination of the creative process', brings together articles by thirteen contributorsfrom the fields of science, art and music. Two of the contributors have been awarded Nobel prizes, and all are distinguished representatives of their fields. The Origins of Creativity is organized around four central themes of creativity: the creative experience in art and science; the biologicalbasis of imagination, emotion and reason; creative powers and the environment; and the mind's perception of patterns. The views of artists, who couch their ideas in more metaphorical language, mingle with the analytical thoughts of scientists who strive to understand how the brain generates imagesand ideas. The voices of creators - artist, scientist, mathematician - and of those who study creative activity - neuroscientist, psychologist, philosopher - generate a broad spectrum of views on creativity whose integration offers new insights and becomes a creative act in itself. This bookoffers insights into the origins of human creativity to scientists, artists, and general readers. Its inter-disciplinary authorship presents a uniquely broad perspective on current research, and the style throughout is accessible and engaging.

The second edition of William Phemister’s The American Piano Concerto Compendium reveals to professional and amateurs pianists alike a vast collection of available compositions by American composers. Analysis expands outside mainstream concerto styles to include those considered experimental or popular derivatives. The range of music flows from Pulitzer Prize winners like Samuel Barber, Gail Kubik, and John LaMontaine, to lesser-known multi-ethnic composers such as Tania León and Samuel Zyman, to old standards like Edward MacDowell and the first piano concerto written by an American-born composer, Otis B. Boise (1875), to the cutting-edge avant-garde of Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carter, just to name a few. These all contribute to the varied narrative that animates American piano music. With forty percent more works described, documented, and reviewed than were listed in the 1985 first edition from the College Music Society, this second edition is a valuable resource not only for pianists and conductors, but also for orchestras, teachers, students, music historians and critics, collectors, and concert attendees.