NEW YORK — My first mistake was waking up early to get groceries. Then it was a long Friday at work, followed by a piano recital and finally a sprint downtown — where, exhausted, I was in the worst ...

As aesthetically dazzling as this picture is, with hypnotic compositions carved through meticulous mise-en-scene, there are certain conventional lines which — when crossed — must warrant good reason.

If you want to sleep better tonight, composer Max Richter has a proposition: Fluff your pillow, shut your eyes and let his music put you to bed. Richter has composed what he calls an “eight-hour ...