Music And The Mind - Anthony Storr

"A fascinating series of essays confirming what music lovers sense, even if they are unable to articulate [their] views with Storr's eloquence and clarity." - Cleveland Plain Dealer

Music is at once the most mysterious and most arousing of all forms of art, powerfully stirring our emotions. Early cave paintings depict people dancing to music, suggesting that music and human life are inextricably interwoven. In his first new book since the publication of his highly influential Solitude, distinguished psychologist and author Anthony Storr brilliantly explores why and how music is one of the fundamental activities of mankind.

Why do human beings in all known cultures create some form of melodic sound? Why does music have the power to increase our pulse rate and blood pressure, inspire overwhelming emotions, and call up long-forgotten memories? Drawing on his own lifelong passion for music and synthesizing the theories of Plato, Schopenhauer, Stravinsky, Nietzsche, Bartók, and others, Storr illuminates music's deep beauty and timeless truth. "A transcendental blessing," music enriches our lives as it orders our world. Like all of Storr's work, Music and the Mind is ultimately a profound and compelling exploration of the human psyche.