Understanding Music: Philosophy and Interpretation

Following his celebrated book "The Aesthetics of Music", Scruton explores the fundamental elements that constitute a great piece of music.Roger Scruton is one of the most notable British philosophers of the post-war years. Like many, Bernard Williams and Brian Magee among them, he is passionately interested in music. Indeed he has written two operas.This new book applies the theory to the practice and examines a number of composers and musical forms - from Scruton´s fascination with Wagner to Boulez and Hoagy Carmichael. The book ends with a devastating chapter on pop music that will be greatly relished by many, while enraging others. The consistent and passionate argument underlying the book is one for tonality and rhythm. Introduction; 1. Musical Movement; 2. Rhythm; 3. Music and Emotion; 4. Wittgenstein and Music; 5. Sounds: Metaphysical Analysis; 6. Mozart; 7. Beethoven´s Ninth; 8. Love and Justice in Wagner; 9. Janaceck as Model; 10. Szymanowski; 11. The Music of America; 12. The Disaster of Pop.