Style and Music : Theory, History, and Ideology

Rating:
Summary: A stunning work
Review: Leonard Meyer once again proves he is one of the great thinkers about music in this fantastically wide-ranging book. The subtitle, Theory, History, and Ideology is not an empty promise--Meyer's discussion is exactly the relationships between Theory and Ideology, especially in Romantic music; how ideology affects compositional practice. His thoughts on elite egalitatarianism, disguise in music, and the persistence of Romanticism are a must-read for the serious music scholar. That Meyer's thoughts can scarely be contained within the confines of a book is deomonstrated by his own writing style--fully half of the book is footnoted asides--points brought up by the main text and worthy of discussion but which would side-track the main points if pursued there; almost as if Meyer has written two books in one! I cannot recommend this book more highly--I think it is one of the most important English language books on music ever written.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning work
Review: Leonard Meyer once again proves he is one of the great thinkers about music in this fantastically wide-ranging book. The subtitle, Theory, History, and Ideology is not an empty promise--Meyer's discussion is exactly the relationships between Theory and Ideology, especially in Romantic music; how ideology affects compositional practice. His thoughts on elite egalitatarianism, disguise in music, and the persistence of Romanticism are a must-read for the serious music scholar. That Meyer's thoughts can scarely be contained within the confines of a book is deomonstrated by his own writing style--fully half of the book is footnoted asides--points brought up by the main text and worthy of discussion but which would side-track the main points if pursued there; almost as if Meyer has written two books in one! I cannot recommend this book more highly--I think it is one of the most important English language books on music ever written.