On the Musically Beautiful: a Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthetics of Music

By Eduard Hanslick

Book Overview

Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful (Vom Musikalisch-Sch nen, 1854), written and published before the author turned 30, is a watershed document in the history of aesthetics, and of thought... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872200140
• ISBN13: 9780872200142
• Release Date: June 1986
• Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company
• Length: 151 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

On the Musically Beautiful

Such a great book! Well contructed arguement with enjoyable wit!! Book arrived on time and was in great condition, as described

a classic book that had a lot of influence on the canon

Anyone who wants to understand our modern musical prejudices should start here. There's an older translation available, but this one is much easier to read. Hanslick was a Viennese music critic who applauded Brahms and criticized Wagner. His thoughts about what makes music pleasurable are collected in this short book. A lot of it won't make sense if you don't know anything about classical music. But if you do, it's fascinating to have a look at arguments defending the critical perspective that says that instrumental music is better than vocal music, that German music is better than Italian (and Mozart better than Verdi), and so on. Basically, it's a music critic giving the original justification for a lot of what the musical establishment now takes for granted. So it's a fascinating look at how canon formation is justified.