Philip Lambert, Alec Wilder (University of Illinois Press, $29.95). An important, impressively readable new monograph about a composer-songwriter who straddled the worlds of popular and classical music with unprecedented aplomb. The emphasis is on the music, but proper attention is paid to Wilder’s life as well (TT).

Wolf Kahn (Ameringer McEnery Yohe, 525 W. 22, up through July 26). New paintings by a criminally underappreciated, philosophically minded modern master, a Hans Hofmann pupil who passes his memories of the visible world through the transforming prism of abstraction (TT).

David Pollock, Bob and Ray: Keener Than Most Persons (Applause, $27.99). A straightforward, comprehensively informative study of the life and work of the soft-spoken radio comedy team whose deceptively dry spoofery of their chosen medium concealed a streak of sheer anarchy. Not for those who aren’t already familiar with their work–the author takes it for granted that you’re already a Bob and Ray buff–but if you recognize the names of Wally Ballou and Mary McGoon, this book’s definitely for you (TT).

The Trip to Bountiful (Stephen Sondheim, 124 W. 43, extended through Sept. 1). Horton Foote’s masterpiece, finally revived on Broadway–it was last seen there in 1953–in an unforgettably excellent production starring Cicely Tyson and directed by Michael Wilson. I don’t know when I’ve seen a more perfectly realized example of nontraditional casting (most of the actors are black). I’ve never been more deeply moved by a theatrical production of any kind (TT).

Carl Rollyson, Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews (University Press of Mississippi, $35). A solidly researched biography of the introverted, hard-drinking star of Laura and The Best Years of Our Lives that draws extensively on Andrews’ private papers. Hollywood Enigma is no literary masterpiece, but it tells you everything you want to know, not only about Andrews himself but about the studio-system machinery that made him a top-tier celebrity (TT).

Jane Freilicher: Painter Among Poets (Tibor de Nagy, 724 Fifth Ave., opens Saturday, up through June 14). Still going strong at 88, Freilicher was greatly loved by the poets of the New York School, in particular John Ashbery and Frank O’Hara, and this show explores her complex relationship with the writers who work she inspired. If you warm to the paintings of Bonnard–or Fairfield Porter–you won’t want to miss “Painter Among Poets” (TT).

Paul Moravec, Northern Lights Electric (BMOP/sound). Two large-scale concerti by my Pulitzer-winning operatic collaborator, the 2008 Clarinet Concerto (played by David Krakauer) and Montserrat: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, composed in 2001 (played by Matt Haimovitz), accompanied by the title track, an impressionistic chamber-music octet that he rescored to brilliant effect for full orchestra in 2000. I suppose I’m biased–I think that Paul is one of this country’s very finest composers–so I’ll say no more than that if you don’t know his music, this exceedingly well-played CD, which also features Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, is an ideal place to start (TT).

All in the Timing (Primary Stages, 59E59 Theatres, 59 E. 59, newly extended through Apr. 28). A twentieth-anniversary off-Broadway revival of the program of six one-act comedies, by turns surreal and poignant, that first put David Ives on the map of American theater. I didn’t see the 1993 production, but I can’t imagine how it could have been better than this glittering version, perfectly staged by John Rando, Ives’ frequent collaborator, and acted with colossal éclat by five young actors who fit together like the pieces of a platinum-plated jigsaw puzzle (TT).