Abstract: As a first impression Leo Black’s Franz Schubert: Music and Belief presents a free-flowing association of ideas, unfolding a blend of philosophical contemplation and musical analysis (use of theme, texture, and tonality) to reveal both the development of Schubert’s own musical language and his indebtedness to Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. But the book is more than a loose assortment of fanciful conclusions based on the author’s wide reading and otherwise informed reflections. The title ‘Music and Belief’ is as much an expression of Schubert’s beliefs, in so far as they are accessible through his music, as of the author’s belief that the truest way to appreciate the composer is through his music. Thus Black tries to counter the trend in the Schubert literature to put too much emphasis on biographical details or to rely too heavily on technical music analysis. On page 1 we read: ‘To all but the most specialist scholars the composer by now amounts to the man, and details of his life should be superfluous where there is a receptive ear.’ And on page 2: ‘Exegesis of actual music is possible, but demands musical sensitivity and is likely, unless confined to the most dry-as-dust analysis, to be contentiously subjective.’
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-08-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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