Theodor Adorno is one of this century's most influential thinkers
in the areas of social theory, philosophy, aesthetics, and music.
Throughout the essays in this book, all of which concern musical
matters, he displays an astonishing range of cultural reference,
demonstrating that music is invariably social, political, even
ethical.
Adorno's insistence on the social character of aesthetic works will
come as no surprise to those familiar with his writings, although
many may be surprised by the volume's somewhat colloquial tone.
This colloquialism, in dialogue with Adorno's unceasing rigor,
stems from the occasional sources of many of the essays, mainly
public lectures and radio addresses. As such, this volume
represents an important and, for English-language readers, largely
unfamiliar side to Adorno. His arguments move more quickly than in
his more formal and extended musicological works, and the writing
is much more accessible and generous than his usually dense and
frequently opaque prose.
This volume includes essays on prominent figures in music (Alban
Berg, Anton von Webern, Arturo Toscanini), compositional technique
(the prehistory of the twelve-tone row, the function of
counterpoint in new music), and the larger questions of musical
sociology for which Adorno is most famous, including the relation
of interpretation to audience, the ideological function of opera,
and the historical meaning of musical technique. The essay on the
sociology of music, for example, represents an early statement of
what would soon become trademark principles of his mode of musical
analysis, serving as a catalyst for his famous study "Introduction
to the Sociology of Music."
Some forty years after most of these essays were written, they
remain fresh and relevant. In part, this is because Adorno's method
has only recently begun to make substantial inroads into
Anglo-American musicology. And the interdisciplinary nature of his
thought provides a precursor for today's interdisciplinary studies.
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