Musical Meaning and Human Values

Musical understanding has evolved dramatically, principally through an appreciation of musical meaning in its social, cultural, and philosophical dimensions. This book examines the open and active circle between the values and valuations placed on music by individuals and societies, and the discovery, through music, of what and how to value.

Each essay in the collection shows, in its own way, how music may provoke transformative reflection in its listeners and thus help guide humanity to its own essential embodiment in the world.The range of topics is broad and developed with an eye both to the historical specificity of values and to the variety of their possible incarnations. The music is both canonical and noncanonical, old and new. Although all of it is 'classical', the contributors' treatment of it yields conclusions that apply well beyond the classical sphere. The composers discussed include Gabrieli, Marenzio, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Wagner, Puccini, Hindemith, Schreker, and Henze. Anyone interested in music as it is studied today will find this volume essential reading.