Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful

A New Translation

Lee Rothfarb and Christoph Landerer

New translation of one of the most famous treatises on music aesthetics ever published
The most clear, readable, and accurate translation of this work to date
Readers' Guide facilitates study, outlining different paths through the treatise

Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful

A New Translation

Lee Rothfarb and Christoph Landerer

Description

Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful (Vom Musikalisch-SchÃ¶nen, 1854), written and published before the author turned 30, is a watershed document in the history of aesthetics, and of thought about music generally.

The notion of "absolute music," which lies at the heart of the treatise, is now more than ever at the center of discussions about music, particularly that of the Classic and Romantic eras. Rothfarb and Landerer's translation includes three introductory essays offering fresh perspectives on Hanslick, and on the origins, publications, and translation history of his treatise, as well as its central concepts and philosophical underpinnings. The volume also includes thorough annotations, a readers' guide, a glossary of important terms and concepts, and an appendix, which comprises the original opening of Chapter 1, substantially rewritten in subsequent editions, as well as the original ending of the treatise that was excised by Hanslick in later editions. The book's ideas, cogently and often wittily expressed, are mandatory reading for anyone interested in eighteenth and nineteenth-century music and its cultural and intellectual background.

Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful

A New Translation

Lee Rothfarb and Christoph Landerer

Translators' Preface
Introductory Essays
1. Origins, Publication, and Translation History of the Treatise
Christoph Landerer, Alexander Wilfing, Lee Rothfarb
2. Introduction to Hanslick's Central Concepts
Christoph Landerer, Lee Rothfarb
3. Philosophical Background
Christoph Landerer, Lee Rothfarb
Readers' Guide: Alternative Routes Through the Treatise
Lee Rothfarb, Christoph Landerer
On the Musically Beautiful, 10th edition
Preface
Chapter 1, The Aesthetics of Feeling
Chapter 2, The "Representation of Feelings" is not the Content of Music
Chapter 3, The Musically Beautiful
Chapter 4, Analysis of the Subjective Impression of Music
Chapter 5, Aesthetic Compared to Pathological Perception of Music
Chapter 6, The Relation of Music to Nature
Chapter 7, The Concepts "Content" and "Form" in Music
Appendix: Chapter 1, 1st edition (excerpt)
Chapter 7, 1st edition, conclusion
Contextualizing Commentary
Selected Sources for Further Reading

Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful

A New Translation

Lee Rothfarb and Christoph Landerer

Author Information

Lee Rothfarb, Professor of Music Theory, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Christoph Landerer, Principal Investigator, Austrian Academy of Sciences

Lee Rothfarb is Professor of Music Theory at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of three books, including the 1989 winner of the Society for Music Theory's Outstanding Publication Award, Ernst Kurth as Theorist and Analyst (1988). The SMT has honored him with a Lifetime Membership in recognition of his founding its electronic journal, Music Theory Online, and serving as its first editor. Christoph Landerer is Project Staff and Principal Investigator at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and author of Eduard Hanslick und Bernard Bolzano (2004). His main work areas are Hanslick, Herbart, and Nietzsche.

Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful

A New Translation

Lee Rothfarb and Christoph Landerer

Reviews and Awards

"The translators provide thorough scholarly apparatus plus extensive introductory material. ... The new translation seems to convey Hanslick's thought with utter clarity, and the accompanying material is truly useful. Summing up: Highly recommended" - CHOICE

"At last! Dusting the cobwebs from Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful, Lee Rothfarb and Christoph Landerer have produced the new standard edition in English. Combining an extensive scholarly frame with the goals of accuracy, clarity, and consistency, their translation offers many of us a chance to rethink what we thought we knew about this landmark contribution to music aesthetics. And newcomers to Hanslick's "little booklet" will be spared the distortions of previous translations." - Theodore Gracyk, Co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Music

"This superlative new translation of Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful captures the stylistic brilliance of Hanslick's original while also illuminating his arguments and penetrating to the very heart of his aesthetic theory. Of particular interest is the collection of essays that precedes the translation. These situate Hanslick's treatise in a broad philosophical and cultural context, elucidate his concepts with incisive clarity, and trace a fascinating history of the translation of the book. Thoroughly researched and deeply engaging, this will quickly become the definitive English version of Hanslick's text." - Nicole Grimes, editor of Rethinking Hanslick: Music, Formalism, and Expression (2013)

"A much-needed new critical translation from a bi-lingual team of scholars with relevant expertise in musicology, philosophical aesthetics, and history of theory. This translation is consistently faithful to the original, giving special care to terminological consistency, but without sacrificing the clarity and directness that distinguishes Hanslick's text from so much other philosophical writing on music in his time and since. Substantial introductory essays and a glossary provide valuable context for readers coming from different disciplines or approaching this classic text for the first time." - Thomas Grey, Department of Music, Stanford University