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The Aesthetics of Survival: A Composer's View of Twentieth-Century Music
A revised paperback edition of composer George Rochberg's landmark essays
"Rochberg presents the rare spectacle of a composer who has made his peace with tradition while maintaining a strikingly individual profile. . . . [H]e succeeds in transforming the sublime concepts of traditional music into contemporary language."
--- Washington Post
"An indispensable book for anyone who wishes to understand the sad and curious fate of music in the twentieth century."
--- Atlantic Monthly
"The writings of George Rochberg stand as a pinnacle from which our past and future can be viewed."
--- Kansas City Star
As a composer, George Rochberg has played a leading role in bringing about a transformation of contemporary music through a reassessment of its relation to tonality, melody, and harmony. In The Aesthetics of Survival , the author addresses the legacy of modernism in music and its related effect on the cultural milieu, particularly its overemphasis on the abstract, rationalist thinking embraced by contemporary science, technology, and philosophy. Rochberg argues for the renewal of holistic values in order to ensure the survival of music as a humanly expressive art.
A renowned composer, thinker, and teacher, George Rochberg has been honored with innumerable awards, including, most recently, an Alfred I. du Pont Award for Outstanding Conductors and Composers, and an André and Clara Mertens Contemporary Composer Award. He lives in Pennsylvania.
"Rochberg presents the rare spectacle of a composer who has made his peace with tradition while maintaining a strikingly individual profile. . . . [H]e succeeds in transforming the sublime concepts of traditional music into contemporary language."
--- Washington Post
"An indispensable book for anyone who wishes to understand the sad and curious fate of music in the twentieth century."
--- Atlantic Monthly
"The writings of George Rochberg stand as a pinnacle from which our past and future can be viewed."
--- Kansas City Star
As a composer, George Rochberg has played a leading role in bringing about a transformation of contemporary music through a reassessment of its relation to tonality, melody, and harmony. In The Aesthetics of Survival , the author addresses the legacy of modernism in music and its related effect on the cultural milieu, particularly its overemphasis on the abstract, rationalist thinking embraced by contemporary science, technology, and philosophy. Rochberg argues for the renewal of holistic values in order to ensure the survival of music as a humanly expressive art.
A renowned composer, thinker, and teacher, George Rochberg has been honored with innumerable awards, including, most recently, an Alfred I. du Pont Award for Outstanding Conductors and Composers, and an André and Clara Mertens Contemporary Composer Award. He lives in Pennsylvania.
- GenresMusic
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 4, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2024
"The liberation of the imagination from dogma implies the freedom to move where the ear takes us and to bring together everything which seems good to it. We are not Slaves of History. We can choose and create our own time." These words encapsulate the attitude toward music as demonstrated in this collection of brilliant essays.
April 29, 2026
A very uneven collection, but it finished strong.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews