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