Psychoanalytic Explorations In Music. Second Series.: Edited by Stuart Feder, M.D., Richard L. Karmel, Ph.D. and George H. Pollock, Ph.D. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, Inc., 1993. 323 pp.

Once again the editors are also contributors to this collection of original presentations for those readers interested in both psychoanalysis

and music. The material is very well organized, with some overlapping of topics which enables the reader to learn about an area from several points of view. This fosters an increased capacity to integrate the material and leaves one with the satisfying sense of having considered many controversial topics. All of this is accomplished with minimal confusion and maximal enjoyment.

The first section, “On Music and Method,” opens with an essay by Feder on how he conceptualizes the link between a work of art and the mental life of its creator. His title, “Promissory Notes,” is a play on words that fulfills the promise, for he clearly elucidates the principles of the leap from mind to music. He speaks of three principles for psychoanalysis applied to creativity. These are overdeterminism and multiple function, infinite displaceability, and infinite representation. It is fruitful to analyze creative works using these principles, just as one can use them to understand free associations in psychoanalytic work. Feder illustrates these points by examining a song by Schubert, his poignant “Moment Musical.” A marvelous aspect of this book is that in many instances the musical score is printed along with the explanatory text. The clarity of the illustration makes the principles accessible to the interested but technically unsophisticated reader and inspires further thought and study in the area. The reader can at last fulfill his or her own promissory note to go deeper into these creative ideas.

Martin Nass follows with an original study on creativity and psychopathology that is equally interesting and accessible. He convincingly presents the point that creativity, which by definition must involve a greater contact with internal processes, is not a sign of psychopathology. In fact, the reverse is true, for the composer must “trust his own ab