From Israel's most celebrated musician and outspoken critic, an examination of the power of music to transform society

In this eloquent new book, Daniel Barenboim draws on his profound and uniquely influential engagement with music to argue for its central importance in our everyday lives. While we may sometimes think of personal, social and political issues as existing independently of each other, Barenboim shows how music teaches that this is impossible.

Turning to his intense involvement with Palestine, he examines the transformative power of music in the world, from his own performances of Wagner in Israel to his foundation, with Edward Said, of the internationally acclaimed West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Music Quickens Time reveals how the sheer power and eloquence of music offers us a way to explore and shed light on the way in which we live, and to illuminate and resolve some of the most intractable issues of our time.

Praise for Music Quickens Time:
“There is no one quite like him today in the music world.” — New York Times

“Electrifying … Barenboim concludes through these illuminating meditations that the power of music lies in its ability to speak to all aspects of the human being.” — Publishers Weekly

“Truly riveting.” — New York Observer

“Whether discussing the structure of a Mozart finale or the problem of performing Wagner to a Jewish audience, Mr. Barenboim proves a wonderfully compelling maestro.” — Economist

“The writing brims with an optimism that is both heroic and hard-won.” — New Yorker

Daniel Barenboim is one of the most prominent musicians of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, as both pianist and conductor. He has received numerous Grammy awards, and is the author of A Life in Music, and co-author, with Edward Said, of Parallels and Paradoxes. He was a UN Ambassador for Peace and has received many awards including the Goethe Medal, the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, the Praemium Imperiale and the Wolf Prize in Arts.