Why classical music still matters / Lawrence Kramer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kramer, Lawrence, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Music--Philosophy and aesthetics.

Music.

Musical analysis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (252 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. ; London : University of California Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"What can be done about the state of classical music?" Lawrence Kramer asks in this elegant, sharply observed, and beautifully written extended essay. Classical music, whose demise has been predicted for at least a decade, has always had its staunch advocates, but in today's media-saturated world there are real concerns about its viability. Why Classical Music Still Matters takes a forthright approach by engaging both skeptics and music lovers alike. In seven highly original chapters, Why Classical Music Still Matters affirms the value of classical music-defined as a body of nontheatrical music produced since the eighteenth century with the single aim of being listened to-by revealing what its values are: the specific beliefs, attitudes, and meanings that the music has supported in the past and which, Kramer believes, it can support in the future. Why Classical Music Still Matters also clears the air of old prejudices. Unlike other apologists, whose defense of the music often depends on arguments about the corrupting influence of popular culture, Kramer admits that classical music needs a broader, more up-to-date rationale. He succeeds in engaging the reader by putting into words music's complex relationship with individual human drives and larger social needs. In prose that is fresh, stimulating, and conversational, he explores the nature of subjectivity, the conquest of time and mortality, the harmonization of humanity and technology, the cultivation of attention, and the liberation of human energy.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

In Lieu Of A Preface

Chapter One. Classical Music And Its Values

Chapter Two. The Fate Of Melody And The Dream Of Return

Chapter Three. Score And Performance, Performance And Film: Classical Music As Liberating Energy

Chapter Four. But Not For Me: Love Song And The Heartache Of Modern Life

Chapter Five. The Ghost In The Machine: Keyboard Rhapsodies

Chapter Six. Crisis And Memory: The Music Of Lost Time

Chapter Seven. Persephone's Fiddle: The Value Of Classical Music

References

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:

9786611752477

9781281752475

1281752479

9781429471817

1429471816

9780520933644

0520933648

9781433709678

1433709678

OCLC:

437178391