Lawrence Kramer has been a pivotal figure in the development of the controversial new
musicology integrating the study of music with social and cultural issues. This accessible and
eloquently written book continues and deepens the trajectory of Kramer's thinking as it boldly
argues that humanistic not just technical meaning is a basic force in music history and an
indispensable factor in how where and when music is heard. Kramer draws on a broad range of
music and theory to show that the problem of musical meaning is not just an intellectual puzzle
but a musical phenomenon in its own right.
