Sound Within Sound

A radical new book by journalist, critic and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster Kate Molleson, which fundamentally changes the way we think about classical music and the musicians who made it on a global scale.

‘Wonderful . . . This is a book of discovery that speaks of music as a life force, that urges us to live our lives through music. ‘- COSEY FANNI TUTTI
‘A marvellous book that opens our ears to sonic worlds that will enrich and delight us, whoever and wherever we are.’ – IAN McMILLAN
‘A clear-eyed, utterly fascinating exploration of outsiders in classical music. Molleson’s excellent book challenges and enlightens.’ – SINEAD GLEESON

This is the impassioned and exhilarating story of the composers who dared to challenge the conventional world of classical music in the twentieth century. Traversing the globe from Ethiopia and the Philippines to Mexico, Jerusalem, Russia and beyond, journalist, critic and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster Kate Molleson tells the stories of ten figures who altered the course of musical history, only to be sidelined and denied recognition during an era that systemically favoured certain sounds – and people – over others. A celebration of radical creativity rooted in ideas of protest, gender, race, ecology and resistance, Sound Within Sound is an energetic reappraisal of twentieth-century classical music that opens up the world far beyond its established centres, challenges stereotypical portrayals of the genre and shatters its traditional canon.

‘Sound Within Sound is absolutely inspiring. Everyone who loves music should own this book.’ – CHARLOTTE HIGGINS

‘Introduces us to thrilling dreamers from the last century who believed that music could fundamentally – and disruptively – recalibrate our lives . . . Molleson’s enthusiastic style and eye for character and place give them life.’ – JUDE ROGERS, OBSERVER

‘The vividness and passion of Molleson’s portraits of these ten extraordinarily gifted, exasperating, headstrong individuals is wonderfully engaging.’ – DAILY TELEGRAPH

Author Biography

Kate Molleson is a journalist and broadcaster, and one of the UK’s leading commentators on contemporary classical music. She presents BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show and Music Matters, and her articles are published in the Guardian, The Herald, BBC Music Magazine, Opera, Gramophone and elsewhere. From 2010-2017 she was a music critic for the Guardian. Her documentaries (BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service) include a portrait of Ethiopian pianist/composer Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou and a feature on Mongolian opera. She teaches music journalism at the Darmstadt and Dartington international summer schools. Having grown up in Scotland and the far north of Canada, she studied clarinet performance at McGill University and musicology at King’s College London. She lives in Edinburgh.