Includes index.

Preface / Vera Leinsdorf -- Introduction / Reinhard G. Pauly -- Prelude: The Life of a Musician -- 1. Conducting: The View from the Podium -- 2. Notes on the Staff: Interpreting a Musical Score -- 3. Of Miracles, Magicians, and Myths: Essays on Composers -- 4. Out There in the Dark: The Crisis of Audiences and Critics -- 5. Of Lunatic Bird Catchers and Other Modern Marvels: Reflections on the World of Opera -- 6. Aspects of the Symphony -- 7. Reflections on the Revolution: The Power (and the Perils) of Recorded Music -- 8. The Orchestra, the Analyst, and the Timekeeper: Sketches from a Musical Life -- 9. A Musical World in Crisis -- 10. Toward a Brave New World of Music.