Product Description

Now available in paperback, this is perhaps the first comprehensive account of the nature and significance of music from the perspective of modern philosophy, and the only treatment of the subject which is properly illustrated with music examples. The book starts from the metaphysics of sound, distinguishes sound from tone, analyses rhythm, melody, and harmony, and develops a novel account of music, as the intentional object of an imaginative perception. The argument explores the various dimensions of musical organization and musical meaning, and shows exactly how and why music is an expressive medium. The Aesthetics of Music explains and criticizes many fashionable theories in the philosophy and theory of music, and mounts a case for the moral significance of music, its place in our culture, and the need for taste and discrimination in both performer and listener. The various schools of musical analysis are subjected to a critical examination, and recent criticism of tonality, as the foundation of musical order, are rehearsed and rejected. Scruton defends the objectivity of aesthetic values, lays down principles of criticism, and ends with an energetic critique of modern popular music.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85155 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 552 pages

Jonathan Sachs, The Times
"A formidably gifted philosopher, he here combines analytical rigour with a daunting knowledge of the repertoire as a performer and occasional composer, to ask the most fundamental questions about what music is and what our capacity to enjoy it tells us about the human condition..."

Review
A formidably gifted philosopher, he here combines analytical rigour with a daunting knowledge of the repertoire as a performer and occasional composer, to ask the most fundamental questions about what music is and what our capacity to enjoy it tells us about the human condition. This is a rich and rewarding study, and I doubt whether anyone could have done it better. (Jonathan Sachs, The Times )

About the Author
Roger Scruton is a leading authority on aesthetics, but has also published books on other aspects of philosophy, politics, literature, architecture, and modern culture. Currently a freelance writer and composer, he was previously Professor of Philosophy at Boston University.

Customer Reviews

A book to play with.
This is one of those books - like Leonard Bernstein's The Unanswered Question - that's so generous with musical examples that you read and play your piano through it at the same time. I had a blast. Scruton's such a good writer, and his clear presentation of the elements of music is so accessible, that one simply learns a huge amount from time spent with this book. His enthusiasm for composers like Janacek and Grainger makes you want to run out and listen to their work. Indeed the effect of the whole book is to heighten your excitement about music, and to refine your sense of what makes some music exceptional.

The Aesthtics of Music - Roger Scruton
Hard to get hold of this book in many retail outlets. Subject matter heavy going (but I expected this). Only for those seriously interested in music and/or for those with a philosophical turn of mind. Superbly written.

Real Philosophical Aesthetics of the Classics.
Roger Scruton is obviouslya philsopher in how he writes and clearly argues and catergaries and structures us through each chapter whether it is tonality or other fundamentals of what music is with great examples from all the great composers he also has a real passion for music. The last chapter itself on the Culture and Sociology of Muisc was alsi written with great insight. This is abook that would suit philosophers who like classical music or music students who need to get a bit more philosophical about music itself. I real delight, very well written, erudite and also I would have to agreee with other reviewers very clearly written as you would expect from a philosopher and someone who knows their music. I researched along while to see which one book I would buy on the subject and a few other choices on this is stiill the best overall book on the subject. I not only learnt alot from this book I also really enjoyed reading it as well. I`d be surprised if this doesn`t get 5 stars all round. It does exactly what the title says. if gives you a tour through the Aesthetics of Music. A Psychologist would gleam stuff from the studies and theories mentioned, a musician able to read the the examples of music given and a philsopher aware of the metof he uses but there is not enough of this to put anyone off. You can enjoy this book if you cannot read a note or have no real interest in the psychology or have no understanding of philosophy. Hence why it is so well written. I real tour de force through classical music using Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and everyone as and when necessary and touching briefly on the 20th C scene in music. Highly recommended work.