Musical meaning : toward a critical history / Lawrence Kramer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kramer, Lawrence, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Music--History and criticism.

Music.

Music--Philosophy and aesthetics.

Music, Influence of.

Subjectivity in music.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (347 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley ; London : University of California Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Lawrence Kramer has been a pivotal figure in the development of the controversial new musicology, integrating the study of music with social and cultural issues. This accessible and eloquently written book continues and deepens the trajectory of Kramer's thinking as it boldly argues that humanistic, not just technical, meaning is a basic force in music history and an indispensable factor in how, where, and when music is heard. Kramer draws on a broad range of music and theory to show that the problem of musical meaning is not just an intellectual puzzle, but a musical phenomenon in its own right. How have romantic narratives involving Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata affected how we hear this famous piece, and what do they reveal about its music? How does John Coltrane's African American identity affect the way we hear him perform a relatively "white" pop standard like "My Favorite Things"? Why does music requiring great virtuosity have different cultural meanings than music that is not particularly virtuosic? Focusing on the classical repertoire from Beethoven to Shostakovich and also discussing jazz, popular music, and film and television music, Musical Meaning uncovers the historical importance of asking about meaning in the lived experience of musical works, styles, and performances. Kramer's writing, clear and full of memorable formulations, demonstrates that thinking about music can become a vital means of thinking about general questions of meaning, subjectivity, and value. In addition to providing theoretical advances and insights on particular pieces and repertoires, Musical Meaning will be provocative reading for those interested in issues of identity, gender, and cultural theory. This book includes a CD of Kramer's own composition, Revenants: 32 Variations in C Minor, which he discusses in his final chapter.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Sounding Out: Musical Meaning and Modern Experience

1. Hermeneutics and Musical History: A Primer without Rules, an Exercise with Schubert

2. Hands On, Lights Off: The "Moonlight" Sonata and the Birth of Sex at the Piano

3. Beyond Words and Music: An Essay on Songfulness

4. Franz Liszt and the Virtuoso Public Sphere: Sight and Sound in the Rise of Mass Entertainment

5. Rethinking Schumann's Carnaval: Identity, Meaning, and the Social Order

6. Glottis Envy: The Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera

7. Hercules' Hautboys: Mixed Media and Musical Meaning

8. The Voice of Persephone: Musical Meaning and Mixed Media

9. Powers of Blackness: Jazz and the Blues in Modern Concert Music

10. Long Ride in a Slow Machine: The Alienation Effect from Weill to Shostakovich

11. Chiaroscuro: Coltrane's American Songbook

12. Ghost Stories: Cultural Memory, Mourning, and the Myth of Originality

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9780520928329

0520928326

9780585466248

0585466246

OCLC:

70748729