This book comprises a series of articles on piano playing and interpretation (Emile Gilels, Rosalyn Tureck); on Bach, Brahms and Debussy; on Vienna (Wittgenstein and music, Freud and music); and on Schumann and Schubert.

Michel Schneider, a graduate of France's Ecole Nationale de l'Administration, is a chief adviser at the Revenue Court. He was formerly a director of music and dance at the Ministry of Culture. He is the author of Glenn Gould, Piano Solo; Schumann, La Tombé du Jour; and La Comédie de la Culture.