Engagingly personal and provocative, Professor Bengt Hambræus shares his thoughts on musical performance practice. Not only on the interpretation of Western art music of the twentieth century, but also in interpreting the music of earlier epochs and of other cultures.
Who is the best interpreter - he who attempts to re-create performance practice of past times in all its details, or he who interprets music according to his own emotional make-up in the context of the values and ideals of the society in which he lives? Why do certain compositions become incomprehensible or inaccessible for an audience during the course of only a decade?

Bengt Hambræus spotlights various aspects of musical performance with penetrating insights. A lifetime distinguished by accomplishment, experience and versatility in many fields, and dedicated to composing, education and scholarship, has ensured us a book of substance and depth, yet one that is easily read and entertaining.