Ludwig van Beethoven: Approaches to His Music / Edition 1

by Carl Dahlhaus, Mary Whittall

Overview

Many books have been written about Beethoven. But it is rare to find one that seeks an alternative between the fragmentation found in most specialized studies and the superficial overview typical of popular biography. In this volume, Carl Dahlhaus, one of the century's leading musicologists, combines interpretations of individual works that focus on issues of composition and musical history, with excursions into the musical aesthetics of the period around 1800; an age that was not only a "classical" period in the history of the arts but also one in that aesthetics carved itself a place in the center of philosophical attention. The theme of the book is the reconstruction of Beethoven's "musical thinking" from the evidence in the works themselves and their context in the history of ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198163992
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	01/06/1994
Series:	Clarendon Paperbacks
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.19(w) x 9.19(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

One of the century's leading musicologists, Carl Dahlhaus was the editor of reference books in the field of music history and a prolific author, primarily in the fields of musical aesthetics and theory from the middle ages to Schoenberg, and the history of music in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He has been described as "the most widely read (in both senses) and frequently cited musical scholar of recent times" and until his death in 1989 was Professor of the History of Music at the Technische Universitat.

Editorial Reviews

"His work will reverberate for a long time to come. No one can fail to admire Dahlhaus's richly provocative, probing approach."—Nineteenth Century Music

"Translating such material is extremely difficult; Mary Whittall must be commended for understanding Dahlhaus's meanings so perceptively and retaining his style so closely."—Music and Letters

"An intriguing encounter with Beethoven's music....There is much to stimulate thought and analysis."—Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education

"Dahlhaus focuses his impressive abilities on the reconstruction of Beethoven's musical poetics....The result is an engaging examination of Beethoven's compositions which provides informative insights into the form and structure that characterize Beethoven's works....The translation is eminently readable, and the clarity of the technical musical analyses will allow even a general reader interested in Beethoven to gain a deeper appreciation of the music....Highly recommended for all collections."—Choice

From the Publisher