Essays on the Philosophy of Music

by Ernst Bloch, Peter Palmer (Translator)

This volume contains a selection of essays in translation by the German philosopher and man of letters Ernst Bloch (1885–1977), on the philosophy of music. For Bloch - often simply assimilated to the Marxist tradition, but whose thought shows a strongly individual and idealist cast - music was a primary focus on reflection. His musical knowledge and expertise were of a very high order and he was well acquainted with many of the leading composers and theorists of music of his time in even divorced from his philosophy his criticism remains of value and significance. Throughout, whether discussing the complex and varied relations between text and music, or questions relating to the 'expressive' as opposed to the 'descriptive' functions of music, Bloch is intent on elucidating and placing musical experience.

Genres: Music, Philosophy

298 pages, Hardcover

First published June 11, 1974

About the author

Ernst Bloch was one of the great philosophers and political intellectuals of twentieth-century Germany. Among his works to have appeared in English are The Spirit of Utopia (Stanford University Press, 2000), Literary Essays (Stanford University Press, 1998), The Utopian Function of Art and Literature: Selected Essays (1987), and The Principle of Hope (1986).

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find Bloch's ideas of utopia very elusive (understandable since this isn't exactly where they're fleshed out in full but still.) There are moments, such as his description of the move from the language of the spheres during medieval era to the dodecaphonic method of "late capitalism," where he approaches historical materialism, but these can be a bit too scant, the essays mostly following a sort of Kantian logical exposition. It can be hard to see what exactly in his thought initially gave him his stature in the DDR. Bloch was an esoteric writer who was sadly seduced by the Hungarofascists, just like Lukacs, and that's a tragedy as he has a personal understanding of his material. Perhaps a bit too personal however.