Understanding Music

Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht (1919-1999) was one of the leading musicologists of his generation. His contribution to the field in Germany ranks alongside that of his famous contemporary Carl Dahlhaus. From 1961 until his retirement in 1988 he was Professor of Musicology at the University of Freiburg. He published work on a wide range of subjects, including medieval music, Bach, the reception of Beethoven's work and Mahler's symphonies, as well as contributing to thought on theory and aesthetics. Very little of his writing has so far been translated into English. Richard Evans studied music at Exeter University, graduating in 1979. He worked as a teacher in Germany for some years before studying the piano in Frankfurt/Main and subsequently returning to England to complete a doctorate at Bristol. He has previously contributed translations to the journal 'Music Analysis'.

'Understanding Music will act as an excellent introduction to Eggebrecht's work, and help to make his name better known among English readers. Many of his concerns are similar to those that cognitive musicologists and critical musicologists have long been been wrestling with. Here, he asks what it means to say we understand music, and how we might describe the process of understanding. The translator, Richard Evans, makes a fine job of capturing the readability of the original.' Derek Scott, Professor of Critical Musicology, University of Leeds, UK 'Richard Evans can be thanked for translating and bringing our attention to Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht’s book. Eggebrecht continues the long-standing discussion of musical meaning, bringing to it his comprehensive knowledge of music history and philosophy. By linking traditional aesthetic theory with more recent insights from cognitive psychology, Eggebrecht provides a host of new questions that should attract and challenge music researchers for some time to come.' Philosophy of Music Education Review

• Contents: Preface; Introductory sketch; Aesthetic understanding I; Intermezzo I: ontology, interpretation and performance; Aesthetic understanding II; Intermezzo II: aesthetic identification; Cognitive understanding; The limits of cognitive understanding; The encircling approach; Intermezzo III: identifying life with art - John Cage; Understanding?; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.