An authorativie colection of 48 original chapters on the philosophy of improvisation in music, theatre, dance, poetry, visual art, literature, and more. Aimed at students and researchers.

Alessandro Bertinetto is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Turin in Italy and coordinator of ART-Aesthetics Research Turin (Philosophical Seminar). He has been an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society for Aesthetics. His most recent books are Eseguire l'inatteso. Ontologia della musica e improvvisazione (2016) and Estetica dell'improvvisazione (2021).

Marcello Ruta studied music (classical piano) in Milan and Trieste and obtained his PhD in philosophy in 2010 at the University of Strasbourg and his Habilitation in 2017 at the University of Bern. He is the author of Schopenhauer et Schelling, philosophes du temps et de l'éternité (2014) and co-editor (with Alessandro Arbo) of Ontologie musicale: perspectives et débats (2014).

Introduction 1. Improvisation as Normative Practice 2. Improvisation as Resonance 3. Improvisation as Creative Performance 4. Material and Improvisation in the Formative Process 5. Ontology of Improvisation and Jazz 6. Improvisation and Orientation 7. Improvisation and Action Theory 8. Improvisation, Actions, and Processes 9. Rethinking Realtimeness in Improvisation 10. Appreciating Improvisations as Art 11. Transformative Aesthetics: When the Unforeseen Emerges 12. Improvisation as Spontaneous Creation versus "Making Do" 13. Improvisation as Aesthetic Appearance 14. The Expressivity of Musical Improvisation 15. Jazz Improvisation, Authenticity, and Self-Expression 16. Manyness in Music Improvisation 17. Forms of Improvisation and Experimentalism 18. Improvisational Phronesis 19. Improvisation's Ethical and Epistemological Challenge 20. Street Art and the Politics of Improvisation 21. Improvisation and Political Emancipation 22. Competing Ontologies of Musical Improvisation: A Medieval Perspective 23. Improvisation and Essential Ornamentation in Vocal Music (1600-1900) 24. Freedom and Form in Piano Improvisation in the Early 19th Century 25. Improvisation and Authenticity in Early 20th Century Western Music 26. Improvisation and Composition: A Schoenbergian View 27. Repeatability versus Unrepeatability in Free Improvisation 28. The Risk of Improvised Music: An Ethnographic Approach 29. Empathy in Improvisation 30. Improvisation in Pop-Rock Music 31. "Improvisation" in Play: A View Through South Indian Music Practices 32. Improvisation in Arab Musical Practices 33. Dance Improvisation as Experimental Inquiry 34. The Springs of Action in Buto Improvisation 35. Stage Improvisation in the Commedia dell'Arte 36. Performance Art and Improvisation 37. Improvisation, Stand-up, and Comedy 38. Improvisation, Machines, Cinema 39. Improvisation and Poetry 40. Improvisation in Painting 41. Improvisation in Sculpture 42. Improvisation and Artistic Photography 43. Improvisation and Installation Art 44. Installed Improvisation: The Case of Erwin Redl 45. Improvisation in Design Processes 46. Urban Improvisations 47. Improvisation in Cooking and Tasting 48.Creativity and Improvisation in Games