Writing for readers interested in music, culture, and philosophy, Del Nevo, a philosopher at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, Australia, focuses on the aesthetic experience of listening to Western art music and how it can transform the soul. He discusses art music from the perspective of how music impacts one's sensibility, challenging the prevalent consumerism and loss of art in listening to music. Beginning with a philosophical consideration of art, he draws on Charles Baudelaire's definition and theory of art as it relates to beauty, discusses the element of nostalgia while referring to Plato, and explains the elements of music that provide an experience of art. He moves on to discussion of the aesthetic experience of music as ?soul-making,? describing melancholy in examples from Dowland, Schubert, and Vivaldi; the element of delight in Purcell, Debussy, Liszt, Ravel, and Bach; and the factor of time from the perspective of Plato, Arthur Schopenhauer, Richard Wagner, and philosopher and musicologist Jürgen Lawrenz. He examines Beethoven's music and themes of exaltation and rapture; Wagner's music and musical philosophy; and mourning, stillness, and beauty in music and their effects on the soul, with examples from De Morales, Messiaen, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Mozart, Lassus, and others. He ends with discussion of new art music, with a focus on jazz, and the theories of Adorno. He provides a playlist at the end of the book. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)