Words Without Music: A Memoir

Somewhat unexpectedly for a memoir by a composer, very little of this book concerned music as such. However, it was perceptive about art, the transmission of knowledge within and across fields, and the act of creativity more generally, and all of that spoke to me at a very deep level despite the fact that my own vocation could not be more different than his in some ways. In other ways, we are exactly the same — what is research if not a creative endeavor? This book is also an excellent addition to the canon of recollections about the downtown New York art scene — if you are into that sort of thing — back when renting a second apartment in the East Village to serve as a studio was a financially unremarkable accomplishment.