In today's technological and globalised world, music remains a basic dimension of society. Music, Encounter, Togetherness outlines a relational approach to music that creates space for both human agency and social relationship. Throughout the book, author Nicholas Cook puts Euro-American musical traditions into dialogue with other world music cultures, complementing theory-driven approaches with comprehensive case studies ranging from late eighteenth-century India to contemporary China, and from Debussy's encounter with Javanese music and dance to cross-cultural musicking in Australia and in cyberspace. Through these examples, Cook examines how music affords interpersonal relationship and social togetherness, and what happens when musicians from different cultures interact. Central to the book is the idea of encounter, which highlights the dynamic and processual nature of musicking, as much in therapy or at home as in the jazz club or concert hall. Western musicologists have traditionally thought of music as primarily a repertory of objects; Cook illustrates how thinking of it in processual terms--through an expanded idea of performance--can make as much sense of Western art music as of other traditions. In basing an understanding of music on acts rather than objects and focussing on people and their relationships rather than on the impersonal forces of evolutionary or stylistic histories, the book opens up ways of thinking that counter some of the dehumanising aspects of musical thinking and practice in global modernity.

About the Author
Nicholas Cook is 1684 Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge. He previously taught at Royal Holloway (University of London) and at the Universities of Southampton, Sydney, and Hong Kong. His recent books include Beyond the Score: Music as Performance (2013), Music as Creative Practice (2018), and Music: Why it Matters (2023), while in 2021 his Music: A Very Short Introduction (originally published in 1998 and translated into sixteen languages) appeared in a completely rewritten second edition. A former British Academy/Wolfson Research Professor, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 2001 and holds a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Chicago.

Reviews
Advance praise for Music, Encounter, Togetherness "Nicholas Cook's scholarship has long been distinguished by a wide-ranging erudition that has grown from a remarkable command of the literature in music studies and in many other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Music, Encounter, Togetherness not only underscores that distinction, but it also raises it to the level of a Lebenswerk. This book is Cook at his finest, and it contains ideas, some from earlier research, others quite new, that represent his finest endeavors in the interdisciplinary intellectual spheres in which he works. * Philip V. Bohlman, author of World Music: A Very Short Introduction *
Praise for Music: A Very Short Introduction (second edition, 2021) "A magnificent achievement: I can't think of anyone in world musicology who could have done it better. * Roger Parker, Professor of Music (Emeritus), King's College London *
Praise for Music as Creative Practice (2018) "Cook's discussion of many interrelated topics, with a vast range of ideas overlapping and reinforcing each other, is virtuoso writing...As in all his writing, [he] goes a very long way in this book to clarify these issues, along with many other intriguing musicological concepts, and to stimulate debate in a most lucid and informative manner. * Sinan Carter Savaskan, Notes *
Praise for Beyond the Score (2013) "There is no doubting the stunning array of diverse sources, the remarkable interdisciplinary scope, and the lucidity of expression with which Nicholas Cook has long been associated, in what could be considered his magnum opus. * Giles Hooper, Music Analysis *
Praise for Music, Imagination, and Culture (1990) "It will be essential reading for everybody. * Raymond Monelle, Music Analysis "A fascinating, learned, provocative book...It will start a debate amongst musical theorists which will continue over many years.Anthony Storr "I want to urge anyone interested in musical aesthetics to read it. The book is written with passion, with intelligence, and with deep understanding of music.Peter Kivy, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197663981
Author Nicholas Cook
Format Hardback
Page Count 568
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1066g
Dimensions(mm) 231mm * 127mm * 48mm