Three recently published books document the interaction of music and wellness.

In Sunday’s (10/27) New York Times, Alexandra Jacobs writes, “Music’s soothing and stimulating effect—its use as a kind of medicine—is the subject of at least three books published this year. This is not a new therapy, but a blooming hot spot of research…. ‘The Schubert Treatment: A Story of Music and Healing,’ by the cellist and art therapist Claire Oppert, is a slim but shimmery account of performing on her ‘forever instrument’ for a series of patients with varied afflictions, including the inevitable final one…. Though she tangles dutifully with charts, data and analytics, her philosophy is holistic … ‘Ten minutes of Schubert is the equivalent of five milligrams of oxy,’ the chief of the palliative care unit at a Paris hospital tells Oppert…. Cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin’s latest book, ‘I Heard There Was a Secret Chord’ … [is by] the author of the best-selling ‘This Is Your Brain on Music’ … ‘I Heard There Was a Secret Chord’ is as digressive and intriguing as a long jazz riff, investigating the ability of music to address trauma, aid with movement disorders and mitigate pain… ‘Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness’ … [is] a collection of essays edited by the soprano Renée Fleming, with contributions from Rosanne Cash and Yo-Yo Ma, among others.” League President and CEO Simon Woods discusses music and wellness with Fleming in Symphony at https://symphony.org/features/forward-thinking-a-voice-for-wellness/.