The title derives from the 16th-century philosopher Francis Bacon's contention that "there is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion", which Dinnerstein illustrates with interpretations of Bach's Keyboard Concertos Nos 1 & 5 and several of his solo piano pieces, of which Kempff's arrangement of 'Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen Gmein' offers the most dazzling display of her virtuosity.