An extraordinary gifted musician and writer, Charles Rosen is a peerless commentator on the history and performance of music. This book brings together many of the essays that have established him as one of the most influential and eloquent voices in the field of music in our time. These essays cover a broad range of musical forms, historical periods, and issues - from Bach through Brahms to Carter and Schoenberg, from contrapuntal keyboard music to opera, from performance practices to music history as a discipline. They revisit Rosen's favourite subjects and pursue some less familiar paths. They court controversy (with strong opinions about performance on historical instruments, the so-called new musicology, and he alleged "death" of classical music) and offer enlightenment on subjects as diverse as music dictionaries and the aesthetics of stage fright. All are unified by Rosen's abiding concerns and incomparable style. This book should be of interest to all music lovers.