Felix Mendelssohn has long been viewed as one of the most historically minded composers in western music. This book explores the conceptions of time, memory and history found in his instrumental compositions, presenting an intriguing new perspective on his ever-popular music. Focusing on Mendelssohn's innovative development of cyclic form, Taylor investigates how the composer was influenced by the aesthetic and philosophical movements of the period. This is of key importance not only for reconsideration of Mendelssohn's work and its position in nineteenth-century culture, but also more generally concerning the relationship between music, time and subjectivity. One of very few detailed accounts of Mendelssohn's music, the study presents a new and provocative reading of the meaning of the composer's work by connecting it to wider cultural and philosophical ideas.
By:
Benedict Taylor (University of Oxford)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 180mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 790g
ISBN: 9781107005785
ISBN 10: 1107005787
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 27 October 2011
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction; 1. The idea of cyclic form; 2. Musical history and self-consciousness: the Octet, Op. 20; 3. Returning home: the E major Piano Sonata, Op. 6; 4. In search of lost time: the A minor Quartet, Op. 13; 5. Overcoming the past: the E flat Quartet, Op. 12; 6. Cyclicism in Mendelssohn's mature music.
Benedict Taylor is Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Music Theory at the Faculty of Music, University of Oxford, Senior Research Fellow of New College and Lecturer in Music at Magdalen College.
