A Composer's World, Horizons and Limitations"This is the book of a great composer whose human wisdom, warmth, and wit are commensurate with his musical genius. Paul Hindemith's 'composer's world' is as wide as mankind's, and his faith in the ethical power of music--in the composer's obligation toward his fellowmen--is on a scale with humanity's highest aspirations. Deeply concerned that the wellsprings of music in America should run clear, he calls on today's composer for honest music, on the individual and the family for a revival of amateur playing and singing, and on music teachers for a new program of training the future composer in all-round musicianship. Paul Hindemith's thought ranges from Saint Augustine's noble definition of the value of music to the psychological raison d'etre of the listener's emotional participation; from the mathematics and physics of the tempered scale to the life and death of the violin; from the nature of musical inspiration to the curious social prestige of orchestra conductors; from the education of composers to the ennui that besets performers. There is pleasure and profit on every page of this deep and delightful book for anyone--creator, listener, critic, or performer--for whom the world of music is part of life."--Book jacket. |
Contents
THE PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH | 1 |
PERCEIVING MUSIC INTELLECTUALLY | 14 |
PERCEIVING MUSIC EMOTIONALLY | 23 |
Copyright | |
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achieved activity amateur artistic audible Augustinian basic Boethius cents century choral chords combination tones composer composer's composition composition's concert conductor construction course creative culture degree demand effect effort emotional reactions enjoyment entirely equal temperament expression fact factors feelings fifth harmony human human voice ideal ideas images imagination intellectual keyboard keyboard instruments kind knowledge listener listener's major third means ment mental merely methods metrical mind minor second modern moral musi musical creation musical experience musical form musical impressions musical material musical space musicians natural never octave onomatopoetic orchestra organized music participants perfect performance performer's piano piece players playing possible produce program music progress pure intervals rattling reason rhythm rhythmic riveting machine seems singers singing sound spatial string string instruments style succession syntonic comma talent teachers teaching technical and stylistic technique temporal theory tion tonal tones understand vocal wind instruments writes music