The decision to publish an English translation of my book Proust musicien (Paris: Christian Bourgois, 1984) was taken at a time when the work of Proust had just fallen into the public domain. In 1987 the famous Pléiade collection began to bring out a new edition of A la recherche du temps perdu, a critical edition this time and in four volumes instead of three. With only three exceptions, notably the passage on the Vinteuil Septet, which will appear in the new edition of La Prisonnière (The Captive) after the present book has been published, all the passages I have analysed are included in the new volume I, which contains Du côté de chez Swann (Swann's Way) and Part I of A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs (Within a Budding Grove), along with 900 pages of rough drafts, variants and critical notes. I have taken the opportunity provided by this English edition to update my text, in particular modifying my account of the genesis of A la recherche and adding information that has recently become available.

The original book was the result of a seminar on the relationship between the arts held at the University of Quebec at Montreal in 1976–7 and an interdisciplinary seminar presented jointly by the Department of French Studies and the Faculty of Music of the University of Montreal in 1981 and 1983. Warmest thanks are due to the students and to my colleagues Christie McDonald and David Mendelson for their perceptive criticisms at that time.