Adorno on Music (International Library of Sociology)

Adorno is one of the leading cultural thinkers of the twentieth century. This is the first detailed account of Adorno's texts on music from a sociological perspective. In clear, non-technical language, Robert Witkin guides the reader through the complexities of Adorno's argument about the link between music and morality and between musical works and social structure. It was largely through these works Adorno established the right of the arts to be acknowledged as a moral and critical force in the development of a modern society. By recovering them for non-musicologists, Witkin adds immeasurably to our appreciation of this giant of twentieth-century thought. More than half of the published works of Theodor Adorno were devoted to his studies in music. As his reputation has grown in recent years, however, Adorno's work on music has remained a neglected area because of its musicological complexity. This is the first detailed account of Adorno's texts on music from a sociological perspective. In clear, non-technical language, Robert Witkin guides the reader through the complexities of Adorno's argument about the link between music and morality and between musical works and social security. It was through these works more than any others that Adorno established the right of the arts to be acknowledged as a moral and critical force in the development of a modern society. By recovering them for non-musicologists, Witkin adds immeasurably to our appreciation of this giant twentieth-century thought Cover 1 ADORNO ON MUSIC 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Acknowledgements 7 1 Musica moralia 8 2 Society in sonata-form 35 3 Beethoven late and soon 57 4 Wagner 77 5 Breaking the code 101 6 Mahler and Berg 115 7 Schoenberg 136 8 Stravinsky 151 9 The culture industry and all that jazz 167 10 Taking a critical line for a walk 188 References 208 Index 212 Musica Moralia -- Society In Sonata-form -- Beethoven Late And Soon -- Wagner -- Breaking The Code -- Mahler And Berg -- Schoenberg -- Stravinsky -- The Culture Industry And All That Jazz -- Taking A Critical Line For A Walk. Robert W. Witkin. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In clear, non-technical language, Robert Witkin guides the reader through the complexities of Adorno's argument about the link between music and morality and the detailed analytic discussions of specific musical works with which he supported it.