Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Why does music have such a powerful effect on our minds and bodies? It is the most mysterious and most tangible of all forms of art. Yet, Anthony Storr believes, music today is a deeply significant experience for a greater number of people than ever before. In this book, he explores why this should be so. Drawing on a wide variety of opinions, Storr argues t hat the patterns of music make sense of our inner experience, giving both structure and coherence to our feelings and emotions. It is because music possesses this capacity to restore our sense of personal wholeness in a culture which requires us to separate rational thought from feelings that many people find it so life-enhancing that it justifies existence.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Rejecting the Freudian notion that music is a form of infantile escapism, British psychologist Storr ( Solitude ) argues that music originates from the human brain, promotes order within the mind, exalts life and gives it meaning. In an engaging inquiry, Storr speculates on music's origins in preliterate societies and examines its therapeutic powers, even in people with neurological diseases that cause movement disorders. Focusing on Western classical music from Bach to Stravinsky, he rejects the view, expounded by Leonard Bernstein and others, that the Western tonal system is a universal scheme rooted in the natural order. Citing studies of physiological arousal, Storr updates Arthur Schopenhauer's thesis that music portrays the inner flow of life more directly than the other arts. He turns to Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher, pianist and composer, for an understanding of music as an affirmative medium that helps us transcend life's essential tragedy. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

Storr's work is eloquent testimony to the importance music can play in the life of any person, but it also provides a systematic examination of the significance and meaning of music from the perspectives of some of the world's great thinkers from Plato to Nietzsche. Composers are freely quoted, particularly Wagner and Stravinsky, who represent contrasting viewpoints on the issues. Almost absent from the important philosophic thought discussed is that of John Dewey, who receives only one brief reference; however many of Dewey's ideas are embodied in the works of later scholars such as Leonard B. Meyer (Emotion and Meaning in Music, 1956). The basic questions posed remain largely unanswerable, but the reader is given many theoretical possibilities on which to base a personal philosophy. For the author the best answer is that music, much the same as religious belief, provides some order in human experience. The book is important reading for anyone in the music profession or any music lover who is called upon to articulate values. The content is consistent with that usually included in graduate courses in the foundations of music and/or music education. W. M. Bigham; emeritus, Morehead State University

Booklist Review

Storr has sought to find out how music affects humans so profoundly and why it is such an important part of our culture. He has found valid answers, but his journey to them is even more productive than his conclusions. After exploring various hypotheses about the origin of music, he investigates the relationships between music, brain, and body. Here as throughout the book, he combines pertinent facts with profound yet practical thoughts. He observes that science progresses by replacing no longer valid concepts with viable new ones, whereas music moves forward by addition. He makes a major point of the important role music can play in education by expanding and making more flexible the minds of students, especially at the primary and secondary levels. He also deals perceptively with Schopenhauer's and Nietzsche's attitudes toward music. Storr's broad knowledge is occasionally both lightened and emphasized by a delightful sense of humor. ~--William Beatty

Kirkus Book Review

From Oxford psychiatrist Storr (Churchill's Black Dog, 1989, etc.): a lucid and absorbing study of the relationship between music and the human experience. Storr's fluidly logical exploration begins with an assessment of various theories on the origins of music. After considering theories connecting music to natural phenomena like bird-song or linguistic features, Storr concludes that, although the origins of music will never be established conclusively, ``it seems probable that music developed from the prosodic exchanges between mother and infant which foster the bond between them.'' Using terms such as ``arousal,'' ``expectation.'' and ``fulfillment,'' later chapters explore physiological and psychological responses to music, bravely probing the issue of musical meaning as both an intellectual (objective) and emotional (subjective) stimulant. Occasionally, Storr's own musical observations are a bit simplistic: ``Bach's extraordinary skill maintains our interest; but it is an interest based on elaboration, symmetry, and rhythmic pulse, rather than upon progress.'' But this does not detract from the author's larger vision. The bibliography reveals an incredible breadth of erudition: Storr quotes widely and with equal comfort from scientific, philosophical, and literary sources, ancient to modern. Like Oliver Sacks, he leads his reader effortlessly through a capacious synthesis of diverse material without resorting to unnecessary technical jargon. Readers with their own inchoate reflections on the nature of music will be grateful to have Storr investigating and clarifying their experiences in such elegant, taut prose.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Charles Anthony Storr, May 18, 1920 - March 17, 2001 Charles Anthony Storr was born on May 18, 1920 in London to a Reverend of Westminster Abbey and his wife. The two were first cousins, which may have lead to his poor health and depression. At the age of eight, he attended public school at Winchester and was very unhappy. He graduated from Winchester College and proceeded to Christ's Church in Cambridge where he met C. P. Snow who encouraged him to be moral and compassionate. Storr continued his medical studies at Westminster Hospital from 1941 to 1944, and then became a house physician at various hospitals. He is best known for his books on Freud and Jung.

After completing his education, Storr practiced psychotherapy privately, but combined his private practice with hospitals as a consultant. In 1974, he retired from private practice to teach post graduate doctors at Oxford where he received dining rights at Wadham College and became a fellow at Green College. After his first attempt at writing proved fruitful, Storr continued his career as a writer, producing 11 books in the next 26 years.

Storr's books were very popular in the U. S. and following his literary fame, he became a frequent book reviewer and commentator on British television. He wrote on different themes, but his favorites were gurus, as evidenced in his book, "Feet of Clay, solitude as a helpful tool in recovery, "Solitude: A Return to Self", and the theories of Freud and Jung.

Storr died on March 17 in Oxford after having a heart attack during a speech at Wadham College. He was 80 years old.