Following the success of On Music; Essays and Diversions Vol I Robin Holloway's collection of writings covers a wealth of new ground. Containing substantial studies on Wagner, Strauss and Britten, the collection includes a fascinating piece on Edward Elgar which will be of great interest in the 150th anniversary of his birth. Shorter pieces cover individual composers and particular works as well as individuals and issues in musical life, as Holloway considers the Twentieth Century as a contradictory yet unified whole.

Gathered from a wealth of published and unpublished work, including...