Description
Book SynopsisThe importance of F.T. Vischer on 19th-century music criticism Music’s status as an art form was distrusted in the context of German idealist philosophy which exerted an unparalleled influence on the entire nineteenth century. Hegel insisted that the content of a work of art should be grasped in concepts in order to establish its spiritual substantiality (Geistigkeit), and that no object, word or image could accurately represent the content and meaning of a musical work. In the mid-nineteenth century, Friedrich Theodor Vischer and other Hegelian aestheticians kept insisting on art's conceptual clarity, but they adapted the aesthetic system on which this requirement had been based. Their adaptations turned out to be decisive for the development of music criticism, to such an extent that music critics used them to point out musical content and to confirm music’s autonomy as an art form. This book unravels the network of music critics and philosophers, including not only Hegel but also Franz Liszt, Franz Brendel, and Eduard Hanslick, whose works shaped public opinions of music.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Trade ReviewThis is a welcome contribution to the field of the history of music aesthetics.
Sanna Pederson, University of Oklahoma
Barbara Titus' Recognizing Music as an Art Form is the first study in any language to present Vischer's musical thought in its historical context and explains its importance in nineteenth-century conceptions of the art. Her book is an impressive piece of work, carefully documented and clearly presented. Mark Evan Bonds, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cet ouvrage est donc un apport majeur à la philosophie de la musique, à la connaissance des débats qui sous-tendent une musique parfois oubliée. Mais c’est aussi la philosophie du XIXe siècle qui sort enrichie d’une telle étude. [...] Très utile car chaque pays parle, hélas, son propre Hegel, un glossaire hégélien complète ce livre admirablement documenté. « Analyses et Comptes rendus », Revue philosophique de la France et de l'étranger 2017/2 (Tome 142), p. 229-294. DOI 10.3917/rphi.172.0229
* Revue philosophique *
Table of ContentsAbbreviations Preface
Part I -The Hegemony of Idealist Philosophy Chapter one - Thinking about Art Chapter two - Thinking about Music
Part II - Between Subjectivity and Objectivity Chapter three - The Bird among the Arts Chapter four - The End of Art
Part III - Case Studies Chapter five - Musical Forms as 'Spiritualized Material': Repositioning Eduard Hanslick Chapter six - Programme Music: Franz Liszt's Negotiation of Hegelian Aesthetics Chapter seven - Furthering a 'New Form of Consciousness': Franz Brendel's Concept of a New German School Chapter eight - The Advance of Musical Scholarship
Epilogue - Deconceptualizing Music/ology Appendices Appendix I - Hegelian Glossary Appendix II - Editions and Translations Appendix III - Manuscript Sources Appendix IV - Music Criticism and Idealist Discourse Appendix V - References to Vischer in Music Periodicals and Treatises
Bibliography Translations Index
