"The Marvelous Illusion: Morton Feldman's The Viola in My Life 1-4 constitutes a detailed study of four of Feldman's works composed between 1970-71. These compositions are analyzed from multiple perspectives including those of pitch/interval, time and tone color. Framing the analytical study of these works is a discussion of Feldman's aesthetic position vis-à-vis his contemporaries, both those with similar perspectives, as well as those whose work represented a very different aesthetic viewpoint. Feldman was a member of the so-called New York School of Composers that included John Cage, Christian Wolff and Earle Brown. The book contains an exploration of the shared interests of these composers. In addition it contains an extensive discussion of shared concerns among those composers and members of the New York Schools of Painting and Poetry"--