Opposing Views Of Absolute Music
Rick Watts
Dr. Beth McGinnis
Music History II
Monday, May 12, 2008
Absolute Music
I. Introduction
In this paper I will offer several opposing views regarding instrumental music, and its purpose. I will do so by summarizing prominent people’s beliefs on this matter, and offering some quotations by these people which most thoroughly and concisely convey their thoughts. I will conclude the paper with my personal thoughts and beliefs regarding instrumental music.
II. The Views The term absolute music was originally coined by Richard Wagner. Since the term's initial appearance in the mid 1800s, it has been used to describe instrumental music in both positive and negative ways. Wagner viewed absolute music as being a lesser …show more content…
art form than vocal music. He believed that music without words could only convey general feelings, but that music with text could convey the specific emotions that music should achieve.[1] This Wagnerian idea originated in response to Beethoven's 9th Symphony, the first major work that incorporated the human voice at the same level as the instruments in a symphony.
This was achieved through a choral finale which uses the text of Friedrich Schiller's poem Ode an die Freude ("Ode to Joy").[2] Beethoven's 9th Symphony is a dark and stormy work until the choral finale, is introduced by a baritone soloist singing “Oh friends, not these tones! Rather let us sing more cheerful and more joyful ones. Joy! Joy!” This is a very appropriate bridge between the stormy portion of the symphony and the joyful choral finale.[3] Wagner's view is that through this choral finale the true meaning of this work is conveyed. Regarding the instrumental recitative of the fourth movement, Wagner wrote: “Already almost breaking the bounds of absolute music, it stems the tumult of the other instruments with its virile eloquence, pressing toward decision, and passes at last into song-like theme.”[4]
Carl Dahlhaus clarified this …show more content…
statement: The ‘decision’ Wagner means is the transition from ‘imprecise,’ objectless instrumental music to objectively ‘precise’ vocal music. Wagner ascribes ‘endless and imprecise expressiveness’ to pure instrumental music; in a footnote he quotes Ludwig Tieck, who perceived in symphonies ‘insatiate desire forever hieing forth and turning back into itself.[5]
Wagner is rumored to have said, “Where music can go no further, there comes the word…the word stands higher than the tone.” Although this cannot be verified, it is supported by other bona fide writings of Wagner. It is no surprise that Wagner, a largely vocal composer, praised Beethoven, a largely instrumental composer, when he finally incorporated voice into a symphony. There were, however, people who opposed Wagner's position regarding this choral finale. One such person, Louis Spohr, wrote: I confess freely that I could never get any enjoyment out of Beethoven's last works. Yes, I must include among them the much-admired Ninth Symphony, the fourth movement of which seems to me so ugly, in such bad taste, and in the conception of Schiller's Ode so cheap that I cannot even now understand how such a genius as Beethoven could write it down. I find in it another corroboration of what I had noticed already in Vienna, that Beethoven was deficient in aesthetic imagery and lacked the sense of beauty.[6]
In Spohr's opinion, Beethoven had forsaken “beauty” in an effort to express the “sublime.”[7] Absolute music soon became associated with the existing perspective that instrumental music transcends other art forms by transporting the audience to a higher realm. One of the leaders of this perspective was E.T.A. Hoffmann. Hoffmann believed that instrumental music is superior to vocal music because its meaning is not limited by words. Where Wagner saw the text as the source of meaning for music, Hoffman saw text as a limitation to the meaning of music. “[Vocal music] does not permit a mood of vague yearning but can only depict from the realm of the infinite those feelings capable of being described in words.”[8] Hoffmann and colleagues believed it was only through instrumental music that we could be taken to a higher realm. In 1810 Hoffmann published his review of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. In this review he articulates his beliefs regarding the superiority of instrumental music. “When music is spoken of as an independent art the term can properly apply only to instrumental music, which scorns all aid, all mixture of other arts, and gives pure expression to its own peculiar artistic nature.”[9] Without apology Hoffmann further explains his belief that instrumental music is superior to vocal music by saying that “music reveals to man an unknown realm, a world quite separate from the outer sensual world surrounding him, a world in which he leaves behind all feelings circumscribed by intellect in order to embrace the inexpressible.”[10] This belief that instrumental music is able to take its audience to a higher realm is called Spiritual Absolutism. A different argument regarding instrumental music states that, rather than evoking a higher realm, it evokes nothing: absolute music is without meaning. This belief is termed “formalism.” Peter Kivy defines formalism when he says: Formalism is best defined, initially, in negative terms: that is, of what music isn’t. According to the formalist creed, absolute music does not possess semantic or representational content. It is not of or about anything; it represents no objects, tells no stories, gives no arguments, espouses no philosophies.[11]
Eduard Hanslick states his own argument for formalism: What kind of beauty is the beauty of a musical composition? It is a specifically musical kind of beauty. By this we understand a beauty that is self-contained and in need of no content from outside itself, that consists simply and solely of tones and their artistic combination.[12]
Formalists like Kivy and Hanslick believe that the purpose and enjoyment of music comes from the music itself. It is enjoyed by appreciation of its formal and technical structure.
III. Conclusion It is important to note that for the remainder of this thesis, the term absolute is defined by the sixth definition provided by Dictionary.com which is “free from restriction or limitation; not limited in any way.”[13] Absolute music and programmatic music (instrumental music which tells a story, illustrates literary ideas, or evokes pictorial scenes.[14]) are not mutually exclusive. Absolute music is not necessarily programmatic; however, programmatic music is inarguably absolute. Although program music does attempt to tell a story or illustrate ideas, the story that is told or illustrated is open to interpretation by the listener. Where one listener may interpret one idea or emotion, a different listener may interpret a different idea or emotion. Thus the meaning of programmatic music is not limited to the composer’s intended meaning. Therefore, all instrumental music is, to varying degrees, absolute. Kivy argues that this disagreement in meaning is an argument for formalism. Listeners are in complete disagreement in any given case about what emotive term or description correctly characterizes the music. There is, Hanslick thinks, complete disarray. One listener hears one emotion, another listener another, a third listener no emotion at all, and so on. But, Hanslick asks, can we believe music is able to represent...if it elicits no agreement from listeners about what...it represents? The answer he expects and gives is “no.”[15]
This is not a convincing argument for formalism. In fact, it is more of an argument for Spiritual Absolutism. Kivy directly states that two of the three listeners felt emotions. These emotions, though not agreed upon, are no doubt extra-musical, and thus non-formal. Kivy and Hanslick believe that because the listeners do not agree about what the music represents, the music cannot represent anything. However, if the listeners do not agree about what the music represents, then each listener obviously believes that it does represent something. This is the beauty of absolute music: it speaks to each listener differently, and thus more powerfully. A question must be asked: “which is superior: instrumental or vocal music?” The answer is neither; they are both critical to humanity in different settings. Instrumental music cannot convey specific emotions or ideas as effectively as vocal music. This is neither its strength nor its weakness, simply the fact. There are settings where it is critical for music to convey specific ideas: namely the church. One of the primary purposes of music in the church is to teach theological truths. How can theological truths be taught if the music’s meaning is “not limited in any way?” Therefore the music of the church must be non-absolute (mainly vocal) music. If all instrumental music is absolute, and non-absolute music is what must be in the church, why is there instrumental music in the church? To answer this we must look at what type of instrumental music is in the church. The vast majority of instrumental music in the church is a spectrum of hymn arrangements. Although instrumental hymn arrangements are absolute, for this particular congregation, they are not. Because this specific audience is familiar with the text and meaning of the hymn, even this instrumental music can convey specific emotions and ideas. Harold Best said: Even though [instrumental] music is wordless and deedless, the people making it are not. The more a piece of music is repeated in the same context, the more it will begin to “mean” that context.”[16] In a secular setting this type of instrumental music could not convey these emotions or ideas, and would thus be absolute. However, the meaning of the instrumental hymn arrangement is limited to the audience’s knowledge of the text of the associated hymn, therefore, in this specific setting, this music is not absolute. It is also critical in other settings, that music be absolute. This allows the music to convey different emotions to different people. It is through absolute music that the audience has an opportunity to listen to music critically rather than the words telling the audience what the music is about. We live in a society that does not value critical thinking. We are constantly being told exactly what things mean and how to interpret them. We never give ourselves the opportunity to make our own judgments regarding meaning. As Diane F. Halpern wrote, If we cannot think intelligently about the myriad of issues that confront us, then we are in danger of having all of the answers, but not knowing what they mean. The twin abilities of knowing how to learn and knowing how to think clearly about the rapidly proliferating information that we must select from are the most important intellectual skills for the 21st century.[17]
It is only through critical thinking that we can truly understand the meaning of music. When we are constantly told what music means and how to interpret it, we cannot fully grasp its meaning. But when we critically listen to music, free to interpret the music (as instrumental music allows us to do) we can understand the music as it relates to us, thus fully embracing the music's meaning.. Vocal and instrumental music each have advantages and disadvantages. Vocal music is most useful when the composer's intended meaning of the music is the primary purpose. The most obvious case is music of the church. However, instrumental music gives the audience the opportunity to interpret the meaning of the music rather than being spoon-fed the meaning. Each are important characteristics, making neither vocal nor instrumental music superior; they are both critical for a well-rounded society.
Works Consulted:
"Absolute." Def.
6. Dictionary.Com Unabridged (V 1.1). 8 May 2008 .
Best, Harold M. Music Through the Eyes of Faith. 1st Ed. ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
Chua, Daniel K. L. Absolute Music and the Construction of Meaning. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999.
Classical Music Library. Alexander Street Press. 6 May 2008 .
Dahlhaus, Carl. The Idea of Absolute Music. Trans. Roger Lustig. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1989.
Halpern, Diane F. Thought & Knowledge an Introduction to Critical Thinking. 4th ed. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,, 2003.
Hanslick, Eduard, and Geoffrey Payzant. On the Musically Beautiful a Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthetics of Music. Indianapolis, Ind: Hackett Pub. Co., 1986.
Hanslick, Eduard. The Beautiful in Music. Trans. Gustav Cohen. 7th ed. London: Novello and Company, 1891.
Hoffmann, E. T. A, and David Charlton. E.T.A. Hoffmann's Musical Writings Kreisleriana, the Poet and the Composer, Music Criticism. New York: Cambridge UP, 1989.
Kivy, Peter. Introduction to a Philosophy of Music. New York: Clarendon P, 2002.
Kivy, Peter. Music Alone Philosophical Reflections on the Purely Musical Experience. Ithaca: Cornell UP,
1990.
Kropfinger, Klaus. Wagner and Beethoven Richard Wagner's Reception of Beethoven. New York: Cambridge UP, 1991.
Levy, David Benjamin. Beethoven, the Ninth Symphony. London: Prentice Hall International, 1995.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Portable Nietzsche. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Viking P, 1954.
"Programme Music." The Oxford Dictionary of Music. 8 May 2008 .
Scruton, Roger. "Absolute Music." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. 10 Apr. 2008 .
Slatkin, Leonard, and Richard Freed. "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125." Sept. 2007. The Kennedy Center. 8 May 2008 .
Spohr, Louis. "Autobiography." Lexicon of Musical Invective Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time. Trans. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000.
Treitler, Leo. Music and the Historical Imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1989.
Wagner, Richard. Gesammelte Schriften Und Dichtungen. Ed. Wolfang Golther. Leipzig, 1907.
-----------------------
[1] Kropfinger, Klaus. Wagner and Beethoven Richard Wagner's Reception of Beethoven. New York: Cambridge UP, 1991. page 117
[2] Slatkin, Leonard, and Richard Freed. "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125." Sept. 2007. The Kennedy Center. 8 May 2008 .
[3] Classical Music Library. Alexander Street Press. 6 May 2008 .
[4] Wagner, Richard. Gesammelte Schriften Und Dichtungen. Ed. Wolfang Golther. Leipzig, 1907.
[5] Dahlhaus, Carl. The Idea of Absolute Music. Trans. Roger Lustig. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1989.
[6] Spohr, Louis. "Autobiography." Lexicon of Musical Invective Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time. Trans. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000. page 51
[7] Levy, David Benjamin. Beethoven, the Ninth Symphony. London: Prentice Hall International, 1995. page 165
[8] Hoffmann, E. T. A, and David Charlton. E.T.A. Hoffmann's Musical Writings Kreisleriana, the Poet and the Composer, Music Criticism. New York: Cambridge UP, 1989. page 237
[9] Hoffmann, page 236
[10] Hoffmann, page 236
[11] Kivy, Peter. Introduction to a Philosophy of Music. New York: Clarendon P, 2002. page 67.
[12] Hanslick, Eduard, and Geoffrey Payzant. On the Musically Beautiful a Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthetics of Music. Indianapolis, Ind: Hackett Pub. Co., 1986. page 28.
[13] "Absolute." Def. 6. Dictionary.Com Unabridged (V 1.1). 8 May 2008 .
[14] "Programme Music." The Oxford Dictionary of Music. 8 May 2008
[15] Kivy, page 26
[16] Best, Harold M. Music Through the Eyes of Faith. 1st Ed. ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. page 54
[17] Halpern, Diane F. Thought & Knowledge an Introduction to Critical Thinking. 4th ed. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. page 3
Dr. Beth McGinnis
Music History II
Monday, May 12, 2008
Absolute Music
I. Introduction
In this paper I will offer several opposing views regarding instrumental music, and its purpose. I will do so by summarizing prominent people’s beliefs on this matter, and offering some quotations by these people which most thoroughly and concisely convey their thoughts. I will conclude the paper with my personal thoughts and beliefs regarding instrumental music.
II. The Views The term absolute music was originally coined by Richard Wagner. Since the term's initial appearance in the mid 1800s, it has been used to describe instrumental music in both positive and negative ways. Wagner viewed absolute music as being a lesser …show more content…
art form than vocal music. He believed that music without words could only convey general feelings, but that music with text could convey the specific emotions that music should achieve.[1] This Wagnerian idea originated in response to Beethoven's 9th Symphony, the first major work that incorporated the human voice at the same level as the instruments in a symphony.
This was achieved through a choral finale which uses the text of Friedrich Schiller's poem Ode an die Freude ("Ode to Joy").[2] Beethoven's 9th Symphony is a dark and stormy work until the choral finale, is introduced by a baritone soloist singing “Oh friends, not these tones! Rather let us sing more cheerful and more joyful ones. Joy! Joy!” This is a very appropriate bridge between the stormy portion of the symphony and the joyful choral finale.[3] Wagner's view is that through this choral finale the true meaning of this work is conveyed. Regarding the instrumental recitative of the fourth movement, Wagner wrote: “Already almost breaking the bounds of absolute music, it stems the tumult of the other instruments with its virile eloquence, pressing toward decision, and passes at last into song-like theme.”[4]
Carl Dahlhaus clarified this …show more content…
statement: The ‘decision’ Wagner means is the transition from ‘imprecise,’ objectless instrumental music to objectively ‘precise’ vocal music. Wagner ascribes ‘endless and imprecise expressiveness’ to pure instrumental music; in a footnote he quotes Ludwig Tieck, who perceived in symphonies ‘insatiate desire forever hieing forth and turning back into itself.[5]
Wagner is rumored to have said, “Where music can go no further, there comes the word…the word stands higher than the tone.” Although this cannot be verified, it is supported by other bona fide writings of Wagner. It is no surprise that Wagner, a largely vocal composer, praised Beethoven, a largely instrumental composer, when he finally incorporated voice into a symphony. There were, however, people who opposed Wagner's position regarding this choral finale. One such person, Louis Spohr, wrote: I confess freely that I could never get any enjoyment out of Beethoven's last works. Yes, I must include among them the much-admired Ninth Symphony, the fourth movement of which seems to me so ugly, in such bad taste, and in the conception of Schiller's Ode so cheap that I cannot even now understand how such a genius as Beethoven could write it down. I find in it another corroboration of what I had noticed already in Vienna, that Beethoven was deficient in aesthetic imagery and lacked the sense of beauty.[6]
In Spohr's opinion, Beethoven had forsaken “beauty” in an effort to express the “sublime.”[7] Absolute music soon became associated with the existing perspective that instrumental music transcends other art forms by transporting the audience to a higher realm. One of the leaders of this perspective was E.T.A. Hoffmann. Hoffmann believed that instrumental music is superior to vocal music because its meaning is not limited by words. Where Wagner saw the text as the source of meaning for music, Hoffman saw text as a limitation to the meaning of music. “[Vocal music] does not permit a mood of vague yearning but can only depict from the realm of the infinite those feelings capable of being described in words.”[8] Hoffmann and colleagues believed it was only through instrumental music that we could be taken to a higher realm. In 1810 Hoffmann published his review of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. In this review he articulates his beliefs regarding the superiority of instrumental music. “When music is spoken of as an independent art the term can properly apply only to instrumental music, which scorns all aid, all mixture of other arts, and gives pure expression to its own peculiar artistic nature.”[9] Without apology Hoffmann further explains his belief that instrumental music is superior to vocal music by saying that “music reveals to man an unknown realm, a world quite separate from the outer sensual world surrounding him, a world in which he leaves behind all feelings circumscribed by intellect in order to embrace the inexpressible.”[10] This belief that instrumental music is able to take its audience to a higher realm is called Spiritual Absolutism. A different argument regarding instrumental music states that, rather than evoking a higher realm, it evokes nothing: absolute music is without meaning. This belief is termed “formalism.” Peter Kivy defines formalism when he says: Formalism is best defined, initially, in negative terms: that is, of what music isn’t. According to the formalist creed, absolute music does not possess semantic or representational content. It is not of or about anything; it represents no objects, tells no stories, gives no arguments, espouses no philosophies.[11]
Eduard Hanslick states his own argument for formalism: What kind of beauty is the beauty of a musical composition? It is a specifically musical kind of beauty. By this we understand a beauty that is self-contained and in need of no content from outside itself, that consists simply and solely of tones and their artistic combination.[12]
Formalists like Kivy and Hanslick believe that the purpose and enjoyment of music comes from the music itself. It is enjoyed by appreciation of its formal and technical structure.
III. Conclusion It is important to note that for the remainder of this thesis, the term absolute is defined by the sixth definition provided by Dictionary.com which is “free from restriction or limitation; not limited in any way.”[13] Absolute music and programmatic music (instrumental music which tells a story, illustrates literary ideas, or evokes pictorial scenes.[14]) are not mutually exclusive. Absolute music is not necessarily programmatic; however, programmatic music is inarguably absolute. Although program music does attempt to tell a story or illustrate ideas, the story that is told or illustrated is open to interpretation by the listener. Where one listener may interpret one idea or emotion, a different listener may interpret a different idea or emotion. Thus the meaning of programmatic music is not limited to the composer’s intended meaning. Therefore, all instrumental music is, to varying degrees, absolute. Kivy argues that this disagreement in meaning is an argument for formalism. Listeners are in complete disagreement in any given case about what emotive term or description correctly characterizes the music. There is, Hanslick thinks, complete disarray. One listener hears one emotion, another listener another, a third listener no emotion at all, and so on. But, Hanslick asks, can we believe music is able to represent...if it elicits no agreement from listeners about what...it represents? The answer he expects and gives is “no.”[15]
This is not a convincing argument for formalism. In fact, it is more of an argument for Spiritual Absolutism. Kivy directly states that two of the three listeners felt emotions. These emotions, though not agreed upon, are no doubt extra-musical, and thus non-formal. Kivy and Hanslick believe that because the listeners do not agree about what the music represents, the music cannot represent anything. However, if the listeners do not agree about what the music represents, then each listener obviously believes that it does represent something. This is the beauty of absolute music: it speaks to each listener differently, and thus more powerfully. A question must be asked: “which is superior: instrumental or vocal music?” The answer is neither; they are both critical to humanity in different settings. Instrumental music cannot convey specific emotions or ideas as effectively as vocal music. This is neither its strength nor its weakness, simply the fact. There are settings where it is critical for music to convey specific ideas: namely the church. One of the primary purposes of music in the church is to teach theological truths. How can theological truths be taught if the music’s meaning is “not limited in any way?” Therefore the music of the church must be non-absolute (mainly vocal) music. If all instrumental music is absolute, and non-absolute music is what must be in the church, why is there instrumental music in the church? To answer this we must look at what type of instrumental music is in the church. The vast majority of instrumental music in the church is a spectrum of hymn arrangements. Although instrumental hymn arrangements are absolute, for this particular congregation, they are not. Because this specific audience is familiar with the text and meaning of the hymn, even this instrumental music can convey specific emotions and ideas. Harold Best said: Even though [instrumental] music is wordless and deedless, the people making it are not. The more a piece of music is repeated in the same context, the more it will begin to “mean” that context.”[16] In a secular setting this type of instrumental music could not convey these emotions or ideas, and would thus be absolute. However, the meaning of the instrumental hymn arrangement is limited to the audience’s knowledge of the text of the associated hymn, therefore, in this specific setting, this music is not absolute. It is also critical in other settings, that music be absolute. This allows the music to convey different emotions to different people. It is through absolute music that the audience has an opportunity to listen to music critically rather than the words telling the audience what the music is about. We live in a society that does not value critical thinking. We are constantly being told exactly what things mean and how to interpret them. We never give ourselves the opportunity to make our own judgments regarding meaning. As Diane F. Halpern wrote, If we cannot think intelligently about the myriad of issues that confront us, then we are in danger of having all of the answers, but not knowing what they mean. The twin abilities of knowing how to learn and knowing how to think clearly about the rapidly proliferating information that we must select from are the most important intellectual skills for the 21st century.[17]
It is only through critical thinking that we can truly understand the meaning of music. When we are constantly told what music means and how to interpret it, we cannot fully grasp its meaning. But when we critically listen to music, free to interpret the music (as instrumental music allows us to do) we can understand the music as it relates to us, thus fully embracing the music's meaning.. Vocal and instrumental music each have advantages and disadvantages. Vocal music is most useful when the composer's intended meaning of the music is the primary purpose. The most obvious case is music of the church. However, instrumental music gives the audience the opportunity to interpret the meaning of the music rather than being spoon-fed the meaning. Each are important characteristics, making neither vocal nor instrumental music superior; they are both critical for a well-rounded society.
Works Consulted:
"Absolute." Def.
6. Dictionary.Com Unabridged (V 1.1). 8 May 2008 .
Best, Harold M. Music Through the Eyes of Faith. 1st Ed. ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
Chua, Daniel K. L. Absolute Music and the Construction of Meaning. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999.
Classical Music Library. Alexander Street Press. 6 May 2008 .
Dahlhaus, Carl. The Idea of Absolute Music. Trans. Roger Lustig. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1989.
Halpern, Diane F. Thought & Knowledge an Introduction to Critical Thinking. 4th ed. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,, 2003.
Hanslick, Eduard, and Geoffrey Payzant. On the Musically Beautiful a Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthetics of Music. Indianapolis, Ind: Hackett Pub. Co., 1986.
Hanslick, Eduard. The Beautiful in Music. Trans. Gustav Cohen. 7th ed. London: Novello and Company, 1891.
Hoffmann, E. T. A, and David Charlton. E.T.A. Hoffmann's Musical Writings Kreisleriana, the Poet and the Composer, Music Criticism. New York: Cambridge UP, 1989.
Kivy, Peter. Introduction to a Philosophy of Music. New York: Clarendon P, 2002.
Kivy, Peter. Music Alone Philosophical Reflections on the Purely Musical Experience. Ithaca: Cornell UP,
1990.
Kropfinger, Klaus. Wagner and Beethoven Richard Wagner's Reception of Beethoven. New York: Cambridge UP, 1991.
Levy, David Benjamin. Beethoven, the Ninth Symphony. London: Prentice Hall International, 1995.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Portable Nietzsche. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Viking P, 1954.
"Programme Music." The Oxford Dictionary of Music. 8 May 2008 .
Scruton, Roger. "Absolute Music." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. 10 Apr. 2008 .
Slatkin, Leonard, and Richard Freed. "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125." Sept. 2007. The Kennedy Center. 8 May 2008 .
Spohr, Louis. "Autobiography." Lexicon of Musical Invective Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time. Trans. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000.
Treitler, Leo. Music and the Historical Imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1989.
Wagner, Richard. Gesammelte Schriften Und Dichtungen. Ed. Wolfang Golther. Leipzig, 1907.
-----------------------
[1] Kropfinger, Klaus. Wagner and Beethoven Richard Wagner's Reception of Beethoven. New York: Cambridge UP, 1991. page 117
[2] Slatkin, Leonard, and Richard Freed. "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125." Sept. 2007. The Kennedy Center. 8 May 2008 .
[3] Classical Music Library. Alexander Street Press. 6 May 2008 .
[4] Wagner, Richard. Gesammelte Schriften Und Dichtungen. Ed. Wolfang Golther. Leipzig, 1907.
[5] Dahlhaus, Carl. The Idea of Absolute Music. Trans. Roger Lustig. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1989.
[6] Spohr, Louis. "Autobiography." Lexicon of Musical Invective Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time. Trans. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000. page 51
[7] Levy, David Benjamin. Beethoven, the Ninth Symphony. London: Prentice Hall International, 1995. page 165
[8] Hoffmann, E. T. A, and David Charlton. E.T.A. Hoffmann's Musical Writings Kreisleriana, the Poet and the Composer, Music Criticism. New York: Cambridge UP, 1989. page 237
[9] Hoffmann, page 236
[10] Hoffmann, page 236
[11] Kivy, Peter. Introduction to a Philosophy of Music. New York: Clarendon P, 2002. page 67.
[12] Hanslick, Eduard, and Geoffrey Payzant. On the Musically Beautiful a Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthetics of Music. Indianapolis, Ind: Hackett Pub. Co., 1986. page 28.
[13] "Absolute." Def. 6. Dictionary.Com Unabridged (V 1.1). 8 May 2008 .
[14] "Programme Music." The Oxford Dictionary of Music. 8 May 2008
[15] Kivy, page 26
[16] Best, Harold M. Music Through the Eyes of Faith. 1st Ed. ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. page 54
[17] Halpern, Diane F. Thought & Knowledge an Introduction to Critical Thinking. 4th ed. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. page 3