Smoked salmon and Bach

Oliver Sacks, the neurologist who wrote The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, has died at the age of 82. His book Musicophilia is a fascinating volume of tales of music and the brain, and the strangeness, complexity and beauty of how the two interact. The contents page alone gives an idea of its scope and richness: from 'Brainworms, sticky music and catchy tunes' to 'Papa blows his nose in G: absolute pitch', from 'In living stereo: why we have two ears' to 'Music and identity: dementia and music therapy'. Sacks was a lifelong music-lover. 'When I was five I was told I was asked what my favourite things in the world were and I said "smoked salmon and Bach".  And 70 years later it's still pretty much the same.'