While interpretation of musical scores is amongst the most frequent of musical activities, it is also, strangely, one of the least researched. This collection of essays seeks to remedy this deficit by illuminating ways in which today's curious musician - interested in probing beyond the dictates of a faintly understood score - can engage more deeply and thoughtfully with the act of interpretation. Skilful musical interpretation draws on a vast range of knowledges. The chapters of this collection accordingly address a similarly broad set of issues, including notation, rhetoric, theory, historiography, performers past and present, instrument builders, concert presenters, reception history, and more. Written by leading experts from a variety of musical subdisciplines, these essays are designed to be accessible and practically relevant for musical performance. Many of the chapters utilize case studies and, as such, will be useful for university and conservatory level students as well as music scholars. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Musicological Research.

A dark, funny, deliciously different literary thriller about a jaded hitman, set in the criminal underworld of Seoul 'Kill Bill meets Murakami' D. B. John, author of Star of the North 'A work of literary genius' Karen Dionne, internationally bestselling author of Home 'I loved it!' M. W. Craven, author of The Puppet Show 'You'll be laughing out loud every five minutes' You-jeong Jeong, author of The Good Son 'A mash-up of Tarantino and Camus set in contemporary Seoul' Louisa Luna, author of Two Girls Down 'An incredible cast of characters' Le monde 'Smart but lightning fast' Brian Evenson, author of Last Days Plotters are just pawns like us. A request comes in and they draw up the plans. There's someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do. You think that if you go up there with a knife and stab the person at the very top, that'll fix everything. But no-one's there. It's just an empty chair. Reseng was raised by cantankerous Old Raccoon in the Library of Dogs. To anyone asking, it's just an ordinary library. To anyone in the know, it's a hub for Seoul's organised crime, and a place where contract killings are plotted and planned. So it's no surprise that Reseng has grown up to become one of the best hitmen in Seoul. He takes orders from the plotters, carries out his grim duties, and comforts himself afterwards with copious quantities of beer and his two cats, Desk and Lampshade. But after he takes pity on a target and lets her die how she chooses, he finds his every move is being watched. Is he finally about to fall victim to his own game? And why does that new female librarian at the library act so strangely? Is he looking for his enemies in all the wrong places? Could he be at the centre of a plot bigger than anything he's ever known?

Winner of the Munhakdongne Novel Award, South Korea's most prestigious literary prize Cabinet 13 looks exactly like any normal filing cabinet. Except this cabinet is filled with files on the 'symptomers', people whose weird abilities and bizarre experiences might just mark the emergence of a new species. But to Mr Kong, the harried office worker who spends his days looking after the cabinet, the symptomers are just a headache; from the woman whose doppelganger broke up with her boyfriend, to the man with a ginkgo tree growing from his fingertip. And then there's that guy who won't stop calling, asking to be turned into a cat... A richly funny and fantastical novel about the strangeness at the heart of even the most ordinary lives, from one of South Korea's most acclaimed novelists. Translated by Sean Lin Halbert File Under: Fiction [ 12,000 Cans of Beer | Memory Mosaicers | Will Execution Inc. | Monkey of All Bombs ]

Las Vegas Then and Now pairs vintage shots from 100 years of the city's history with the same view today. ‘Las Vegas Then and Now’ captures the city's evolution from a desert railroad outpost into the gambling and entertainment capital of the world. Pairing historical photographs of the town with specially commissioned views of the same scene today, this book provides the reader with an intriguing look into the history of a city that has become a cultural icon. Historic Fremont Street, which has recently undergone a multi-million dollar renewal programme, presents the most vivid contrast between the dusty desert town of the 1920s and the pulsating entertainment city we know today. Las Vegas is ever changing – the popular Mermaids and Vegas Vicky on Fremont are gone, but further down the Strip, the High-Roller has arrived, one of the world’s tallest observation wheels befitting this thrill-seeking town. Casinos on the Strip have changed too. The Sahara closed in 2011, re-opened as SLS which also closed, and has now re-opened as The Sahara! Experienced ‘Then and Now’ photographer Karl Mondon takes to the skies of Vegas to get some inspiring comparison shots, while author Su Kim Chung once again points out the changes to a city she has written about for the last twenty years. ‘Las Vegas Then and Now’ truly captures the buzz of a city where the only constant is change. Sites include: Allegiant Stadium, Circa, Arts District, Fremont Street, Railroad Depot, Union Pacific Station, Arizona Club, Golden Nugget, El Portal Theatre, Nevada Hotel, Sal Sagev Hotel, El Cortez, Vegas Vic, The Mint Hotel, Las Vegas Post Office/Mob Museum, El Rancho Vegas, Last Frontier, New Frontier, Little Church of the West, Flamingo, Thunderbird Hotel, Desert Inn, Sahara Hotel, Sands Hotel, Stardust, Riviera, La Concha Motel, Dunes Hotel, Caesars Palace, Hacienda, Tropicana, MGM Grand, Aladdin, Boardwalk, International, Landmark Hotel, Las Vegas Convention Center, Moulin Rouge and much more.

Meditative coming-of-age drama by Korean director Kim Ki-duk. The film, which is divided into five sections to reperesent the stages of a man's life, is set entirely on and around a remote mountain lake where a tiny Buddhist monastery floats on a raft amidst the breathtakingly beautiful landscape. Here an old Buddhist monk (Oh Young-Su) instructs his young child apprentice (Kim Jong-Ho) in Buddhist philosophy and shows him how to live in harmony with nature. But as the boy grows older, he becomes consumed by guilt, jealousy and sexual longing, and leaves the monastery to pursue his worldy desires. However, he eventually returns, exhausted and drained by his experiences, and (now played by the director, Kim Ki-duk) slowly matures and rebuilds himself to become a teacher himself. The film won the Audience Award at the 2003 San Sebastian film festival, among numerous other international awards.

Three more short films directed by some of Asia's most controversial horror filmmakers. Kim Ji-Woon directs 'Memories', a psychological horror following a young woman as she wanders the streets, having lost her memory, and her husband as he discovers a dead body in his apartment. 'The Wheel' is directed by Nonzee Nimibutr, set in a remote village terrorised by demonic puppets. Finally, 'Going Home' is directed by Peter Chan and follows a policeman who finds himself imprisoned in the home of a deranged man convinced he will be able to resurrect his dead wife.

After Kebaya Tales and Sarong Secrets comes a rich, gutsy collection of short stories immersing the reader into the vivid, multi-hued world of the Peranakans. Here, the babas take centre stage: masculine perspectives, voices and protagonists are put under the spotlight, even as fiery and headstrong heroines pursue their passions in the face of powerful obstacles. The cast of characters seek to forge individual identities within a unique cultural heritage facing the challenges of modern times. The stories are accented with photographs peppered throughout - of exquisite beadwork, bejewelled adornments, vintage fabrics, gilded artefacts from private collections, personal belongings of the babas, and of course, twinkling, manek-encrusted accessories.

Kim Ch'un-Su is one of the most original poets in modern Korean poetry. He was influenced by Rilke for a while, but embarked on a series of his own poetic experiments culminating in what he calls "the poetry of meaning." An avowed purist, he would not believe in ideas, ideologies, or even history. His poems, in consequence, tend to present only moments of vivid sensations and fantasies refracted through his consciousness. The translator, Kim Jong-Gil, has won the Modern Korean Literature Translation Award and the Poetry Prize in Korea.

Supernatural horror film by Korean director Kim Jee-Woon, based on the old Korean folk tale 'Jangha and Hongryun'. Su-Mi (Im Soo-Jung) and Su-Yeon (Moon Geun-Young) return home from a period of hospitalisation in a mental institution following the death of their mother to live with their father, Mu-Heon (Kim Kab-Su) and despised stepmother Eun-Ju (Yeom Jeong-A). No sooner have they returned than disturbing and inexplicable events start to occur: inanimate objects start to move of their own accord, and Su-Mi suffers from terrifying hallucinations, becoming convinced that the obsessive and unhinged Eun-Ju is keeping an awful secret from her and her sister.

Kim Ch'un-Su is one of the most original poets in modern Korean poetry. He was influenced by Rilke for a while, but embarked on a series of his own poetic experiments culminating in what he calls "the poetry of meaning." An avowed purist, he would not believe in ideas, ideologies, or even history. His poems, in consequence, tend to present only moments of vivid sensations and fantasies refracted through his consciousness. The translator, Kim Jong-Gil, has won the Modern Korean Literature Translation Award and the Poetry Prize in Korea.