"Too often, music criticism today is as dry as the academic music it still tries to foist on an unwilling public. Reilly's essays, compiled from his monthly contributions to Crisis magazine, are the diametric opposite. A man of great erudition and wide real-world experience who has at various times made his career as a Shakespearean actor, high-government official, and extremely accessible writer on matters of history, philosophy, and religion, Reilly writes essays that will amuse and enlighten even those who don't know the particular compositions or composers at issue.
When was the last time you read music criticism that moved you emotionally, made you laugh and cry, and ultimately filled you with hope?"
(
Joshua Gilder on Robert R. Reilly's Surprised By Beauty)