Description
Book SynopsisBringing together reception history, music analysis and criticism, the history of music theory, and the philosophy of music, this book explores the nature and persistence of Beethoven's heroic style. It is of interest to those interested in canon formation in the arts and in music as a cultural, ethical, and emotional force.
Trade ReviewWinner of the 1996 Wallace Berry Distinguished Book Award, Society for Music Theory "Strategic economy is a very striking feature of this book, as striking as its breathtaking ambition... Those with intestinal fortitude will find much to ponder, admire, and digest in Beethoven Hero."--New York Review of Books "Scott Burnham's Beethoven Hero is in every respect an exciting new book... Burnham's arguments are well marshaled, his answers ... trenchantly expressed; the previewers quoted on the dust-jacket have every reason to extol the book as both 'courageous' and 'convincing'."--William Drabkin, The Times Literary Supplement "How the composer was able to make his personal quest our quest is ... explored in Beethoven Hero, which is one of those rare Beethoven books written with a verve and passion to approximate its subject."--Charles Michner, The New York Observer
Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionA Note to the ReaderCh. 1Beethoven's Hero3Ch. 2Musical Values: Presence and Engagement in the Heroic Style29Ch. 3Institutional Values: Beethoven and the Theorists66Ch. 4Cultural Values: Beethoven, the Goethezeit, and the Heroic Concept of Self112Ch. 5Beethoven Hero147Notes169Bibliography195Index203
