Gunther Schuller is one of America's leading contemporary composers, conductors, and musicologists. He has become increasingly dismayed about the way contemporary orchestra leaders have been ignoring the composer's intentions in playing the basic concert repertory from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

In this controversial new book, Schuller puts forth his own principles of conducting, and then analyses in detail several classical masterpieces, comparing the composers' original notation to the way conductors interpret them. Showing ways in which current orchestra and conducting standards can be radically improved, this book is an indictment of contemporary musical trends and an incisive study of the dialogue between composition and performance.