Ampe'd Book

This is a very refreshing view of the music making activity as a process, an ecosystem where all its participants are creatively involved in the (re)creation of musical pieces - composers, performers, listeners and all the traditions, contexts and practices since the beginning of music history. It serves to show the limits and prejudices of the (contemporary?) classical music activity as being rooted on romantic and ideal views of composers and performers which have no standing in actual practice, or in most of its history, for that matter.

Still, I get a feeling that some of the arguments (such as the interactions between composers and the audience) needed further detailing, while others (such as the view that performers are always improvisers) are over-explored throughout the book. B. E. Benson clearly has a very strong background in philosophy and aesthetics, which allows him to make very important and smart connections but, at the same time, its style is sometimes a bit demanding for the listener, due to the rapid sequence of questions and answers of different topics.