A History of Western Musical Aesthetics

A History of Western Musical Aesthetics
Author: Edward A. Lippman
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 1994-01-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780803279513

Among the fine arts music has always held a paramount position. "Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, " wrote Plato. From the "music of the spheres" of Pythagoras to the "Future Music" of Wagner, from churches, courts, cathedrals, and concert halls to amateur recitals, military marches, and electronic records, music has commanded the perpetual attention of every civilization in history. This book follows through the centuries the debates about the place and function of music, the perceived role of music as a good or bad influence on the development of character, as a magical art or a domestic entertainment, and as a gateway to transcendental truths. Edward Lippman describes the beginnings of musical tradition in the myths and philosophies of antiquity. He shows how music theory began to take on new dimensions and intensity in the seventeenth century, how musical aesthetics was specifically defined and elaborated in the eighteenth century, and how, by the nineteenth century, music became the standard by which other arts were judged. The twentieth century added problems, pressure, and theories as music continued to diversify and as cultures viewed each other with more respect.

The Philosophy & Aesthetics of Music

The Philosophy & Aesthetics of Music
Author: Edward A. Lippman
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1999-01-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780803279841

Edward A. Lippman?s writings on musical aesthetics comprise a wide variety of areas and employ both systematic and historical approaches, reflecting throughout his unrivaled knowledge of the philosophical literature on music and his deep understanding of the musical repertory. These essays span a broad range of subjects, from the ancients? sense of what music encompasses to the experience of rhythm in Anton Webern?s work. ø Lippman surveys the physical and physiological factors that condition musical perception, and he explores the effect of sung text in vocal music. In the more purely philosophical realm, he argues persuasively that music speaks in its own terms, not in any formalistic sense but through the symbolic meanings it conveys. ø The historically focused essays include investigations of the aesthetic thinking of Wagner and Schumann, an endeavor that leads Lippman to probe the sources and drives behind musical creativity. Elsewhere he explores the development of particular musical styles. The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music draws upon both philosophy and musicology in demonstrating how the interpretation of music extends far beyond the scope of conventional theory and analysis.

The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory

The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory
Author: Thomas Christensen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1033
Release: 2006-04-20
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1316025489

The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory is the first comprehensive history of Western music theory to be published in the English language. A collaborative project by leading music theorists and historians, the volume traces the rich panorama of music-theoretical thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day. Recognizing the variety and complexity of music theory as an historical subject, the volume has been organized within a flexible framework. Some chapters are defined chronologically within a restricted historical domain, whilst others are defined conceptually and span longer historical periods. Together the thirty-one chapters present a synthetic overview of the fascinating and complex subject that is historical music theory. Richly enhanced with illustrations, graphics, examples and cross-citations as well as being thoroughly indexed and supplemented by comprehensive bibliographies of the most important primary and secondary literature, this book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.

History of Music Aesthetics

History of Music Aesthetics
Author: Enrico Fubini
Publisher:
Total Pages: 600
Release: 1991
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780333446652

A history of music aesthetics from Antiquity to the present day. Fubini considers musical thought in terms of its relationship to philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and teaching in the period up to the Enlightenment. The second half of the book concentrates on key issues in contemporary music aesthetics, placing them in the perspective of the Enlightenment and of 19th-century philosophers."

Esthetics of Music

Esthetics of Music
Author: Carl Dahlhaus
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1982-02-25
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780521280075

An account of developments in the aesthetics of music from the mid-eighteenth century onwards.

A History of Western Philosophy of Music

A History of Western Philosophy of Music
Author: James O. Young
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 684
Release: 2023-01-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1108570933

This book presents a comprehensive, accessible survey of Western philosophy of music from Pythagoras to the present. Its narrative traces themes and schools through history, in a sequence of five chapters that survey the ancient, medieval, early modern, modern and contemporary periods. Its wide-ranging coverage includes medieval Islamic thinkers, Continental and analytic thinkers, and neglected female thinkers such as Vernon Lee (Violet Paget). All aspects of the philosophy of music are discussed, including music and the cosmos, music's value, music's relation to the other arts, the problem of opera, the origins of musical genius, music's emotional impact, the moral effects of music, the ontology of musical works, and the relevance of music's historical context. The volume will be valuable for students and scholars in philosophy and musicology, and all who are interested in the ways in which philosophers throughout history have thought about music.

Intertextuality in Western Art Music

Intertextuality in Western Art Music
Author: Michael Leslie Klein
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2005
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780253344687

The first book-length consideration of questions relating to music and meaning.

Sensorial Aesthetics in Music Practices

Sensorial Aesthetics in Music Practices
Author: Kathleen Coessens
Publisher: Leuven University Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2019-07-15
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9462701849

Embodied experience and sensorial understandings in Western music The Western history of aesthetics is characterised by tension between theory and practice. Musicians listen, play, and then listen more profoundly in order to play differently, adapt the body, and sense the environment. They become deeply involved in the sensorial qualities of music practice. Artistic practice refers to the original meaning of aesthetics—the senses. Whereas Baumgarten and Goethe explored the relationship between sensibility and reason, sensation and thinking, later philosophers of aesthetics deemed the sensorial to be confused and unreliable and instead prioritised a cognitive or objective approach. Written by authors from the fields of philosophy, composition, performance, and artistic practice, Sensorial Aesthetics in Music Practices repositions aesthetics as a domain of the sensible and explores the interaction between artists, life, and environment. Aesthetics becomes a field of sensorial and embodied experience involving temporal and spatial influences, implicit knowledge, and human characteristics. Contributors: Kathleen Coessens (Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Orpheus Institute), Tim Ingold (University of Aberdeen), Michaël Levinas (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris), Fabien Lévy (Hochschule für Musik Detmold), Lasse Thoresen (Norwegian Academy of Music), Vanessa Tomlinson (Queensland Conservatorium of Music), Salomé Voegelin (University of the Arts London)

The Oxford Handbook of Western Music and Philosophy

The Oxford Handbook of Western Music and Philosophy
Author: Assistant Professor of Music and Ad Astra Fellow Tomás McAuley
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 1151
Release: 2020-12-30
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0199367310

Whether regarded as a perplexing object, a morally captivating force, an ineffable entity beyond language, or an inescapably embodied human practice, music has captured philosophically inclined minds since time immemorial. In turn, musicians of all stripes have called on philosophy as a source of inspiration and encouragement, and scholars of music through the ages have turned to philosophy for insight into music and into the worlds that sustain it. In this Handbook, contributors build on this legacy to conceptualize the rich interactions of Western music and philosophy as a series of meeting points between two vital spheres of human activity. They draw together key debates at the intersection of music studies and philosophy, offering a field-defining overview while also forging new paths. Chapters cover a wide range of musics and philosophies, including concert, popular, jazz, and electronic musics, and both analytic and continental philosophy.

Aesthetics and Music

Aesthetics and Music
Author: Andy Hamilton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2007-06-29
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 144119150X

The Continuum Aesthetics Series looks at the aesthetic questions and issues raised by all major art forms. Stimulating, engaging and accessible, the series offers food for thought not only for students of aesthetics, but also for anyone with an interest in philosophy and the arts. Aesthetics and Music is a fresh and often provocative exploration of the key concepts and arguments in musical aesthetics. It draws on the rich heritage of the subject, while proposing distinctive new ways of thinking about music as an art form. The book looks at: The experience of listening Rhythm and musical movement What modernism has meant for musical aesthetics The relation of music to other 'sound arts' Improvisation and composition as well as more traditional issues in musical aesthetics such as absolute versus programme music and the question of musical formalism. Thinkers discussed range from Pythagoras and Plato to Kant, Nietzsche and Adorno. Areas of music covered include classical, popular and traditional music, and jazz. Aesthetics and Music makes an eloquent case for a humanistic, democratic and genuinely aesthetic conception of music and musical understanding. Anyone interested in what contemporary philosophy has to say about music as an art form will find this thought-provoking and highly enjoyable book required reading.