"R. A. is a seasoned philosopher who has long written about aesthetic issues in music. Music and Humanism is one of the latest in a distinguished recent line of philosophical writings on music published by Oxford University Press...It is a compact, contentious, sophisticatedly personal, and worthwhile book that shows considerable maturity and judgement. Professor Sharpe knows his music and knows it well...A valuable feature is the extensive range of music either mentioned or quoted... His book... has many fine attributes: the 'externals' are right and promise a penetrating discussion likely to appeal both to philosophers and to members of the musical profession, if not more widely...Sharpe has become a trendsetter in that his book, perhaps for the first time, runs something new alongside the traditional absolute music versus ideology debate"--Music & Letters

"The Author's apparent familiarity with a vast number of publications on the subject is overwhelming, his acquaintance with the repertoire is impressive."--The Review of Metaphysics