Description
Presents case studies of "inspiration" in five composers -- Wagner, Mahler, Furtwangler, R. Strauss, and Berg -- examining how the supposedly extrarational world of creative inspiration intersects with the highly rational world ofmoney and politics. Lies and Epiphanies offers case studies of "inspiration" in five composers -- Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg. Their own tales of their epiphanies played a determining role in the reception history of their works: the finale of Mahler's Second Symphony was supposedly born of a "lightning bolt" of inspiration at the funeral of Hans von Bulow, while Alban Berg's Violin Concerto was purportedly his direct response to the tragic early death of Alma Mahler's daughter. Chris Walton looks behind these tales to explore instead the composer's dual role as author and self-commentator, laying bare the fissures and inconsistencieswithin these artists' testimonies and revealing how the putatively extrarational world of creative inspiration intersects with the highly rational world of money and politics. As Walton points out, the composer often imposes on the audience an interpretation of a work and its genesis that is as superficial as the score itself is not. This study seeks to show why. Chris Walton teaches music history at the Basel University of Music in Switzerland.He is the author of Othmar Schoeck: Life and Works (University of Rochester Press, 2009) and Richard Wagner's Zurich: The Muse of Place (Camden House, 2007).
About the Author
Chris Walton studied at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Zurich and Munich. He was head of the Music Department of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich for ten years before being appointed chair of music at the University of Pretoria. He moved back to Switzerland in 2008 and lives today in Solothurn. He is an Honorary Professor at Africa Open Institute (Stellenbosch University) and runs two research projects at the Bern University of the Arts for the Swiss National Science Foundation. He has published widely on Austro-German and Swiss music.
Reviews
Well-cited, the book reads like a crime novel, and each of the five accounts is told as a story . . . Walton delves into the field of inspiration and influence, inherently muddy with speculation, clad with the best possible armor of research and inquiry. * MUSIC REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY *
An illuminating read where one is transported back to the lives and times of composers who were, and still are regarded as the greats in Germanic music. * STRINGENDO *
Chris Walton's engaging study is concerned instead with inspiration in its engendering aspect. Having laid a variety of myths to rest, he is cautious about going too far: 'we should also be prepared to regard apparent mendacities [. . . ] as allegories that allow us alternative, symbolic points of access to an understanding of complex, barely understandable phenomena' (p.133). These are wise words with which to conclude this excellent and elegantly written study. * WAGNER JOURNAL *
His theme is the seeking out of the conflicts and ironies that arise when musicians attempt to negotiate between their blessedly non-conceptual chosen medium and the real world in which they attempt to lead their lives. Walton takes understandable pleasure in cutting these giants of artistic endeavour down to size. At the same time, he avoids strenuously moralistic debunking. * MUSICAL TIMES *
Chris Walton offers a fascinating exploration of the stories his chosen composers -- German Romantics from Wagner to Strauss -- have told about inspiration. His conclusion is powerful, even moving, but no less important are his portraits of these still-looming figures. -- -- Paul Griffiths, author of The Substance of Things Heard: Writings about Music
If we are unsurprised to learn that Wagner lied about the sources of his inspiration in order to intensify the pseudo-religious aura of his work, we may be disappointed to discover that Berg was significantly more friendly to Austrofascism than has been generally recognized, or that Richard Strauss repeatedly reinvented himself to best profit from the ruling power -- whether the Kaiser, Hitler, or the Americans. In this important book, Walton debunks the myths of inspiration invented by composers and their canonizers in the contexts of power and money. -- -- Timothy L. Jackson, Distinguished University Research Professor of Music, College of Music, University of North Texas
Book Information
ISBN 9781580464772
Author Chris Walton
Format Hardback
Page Count 180
Imprint University of Rochester Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
About the Author
Chris Walton studied at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Zurich and Munich. He was head of the Music Department of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich for ten years before being appointed chair of music at the University of Pretoria. He moved back to Switzerland in 2008 and lives today in Solothurn. He is an Honorary Professor at Africa Open Institute (Stellenbosch University) and runs two research projects at the Bern University of the Arts for the Swiss National Science Foundation. He has published widely on Austro-German and Swiss music.
Reviews
Well-cited, the book reads like a crime novel, and each of the five accounts is told as a story . . . Walton delves into the field of inspiration and influence, inherently muddy with speculation, clad with the best possible armor of research and inquiry. * MUSIC REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY *
An illuminating read where one is transported back to the lives and times of composers who were, and still are regarded as the greats in Germanic music. * STRINGENDO *
Chris Walton's engaging study is concerned instead with inspiration in its engendering aspect. Having laid a variety of myths to rest, he is cautious about going too far: 'we should also be prepared to regard apparent mendacities [. . . ] as allegories that allow us alternative, symbolic points of access to an understanding of complex, barely understandable phenomena' (p.133). These are wise words with which to conclude this excellent and elegantly written study. * WAGNER JOURNAL *
His theme is the seeking out of the conflicts and ironies that arise when musicians attempt to negotiate between their blessedly non-conceptual chosen medium and the real world in which they attempt to lead their lives. Walton takes understandable pleasure in cutting these giants of artistic endeavour down to size. At the same time, he avoids strenuously moralistic debunking. * MUSICAL TIMES *
Chris Walton offers a fascinating exploration of the stories his chosen composers -- German Romantics from Wagner to Strauss -- have told about inspiration. His conclusion is powerful, even moving, but no less important are his portraits of these still-looming figures. -- -- Paul Griffiths, author of The Substance of Things Heard: Writings about Music
If we are unsurprised to learn that Wagner lied about the sources of his inspiration in order to intensify the pseudo-religious aura of his work, we may be disappointed to discover that Berg was significantly more friendly to Austrofascism than has been generally recognized, or that Richard Strauss repeatedly reinvented himself to best profit from the ruling power -- whether the Kaiser, Hitler, or the Americans. In this important book, Walton debunks the myths of inspiration invented by composers and their canonizers in the contexts of power and money. -- -- Timothy L. Jackson, Distinguished University Research Professor of Music, College of Music, University of North Texas
Book Information
ISBN 9781580464772
Author Chris Walton
Format Hardback
Page Count 180
Imprint University of Rochester Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
