Beethoven in the Age of Schiller, Goethe, and Kant - by Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen Hardcover

About the Book

This book explores twelve themes that reflect Beethoven's compositional development and thought. The result is a fascinating new portrait of the composer and his music, and a panorama of the world of thought, norms, and values that he navigated.

Book Synopsis

This book explores twelve themes that reflect Beethoven's compositional development and thought. The result is a fascinating new portrait of the composer and his music, and a panorama of the world of thought, norms, and values that he navigated.

Review Quotes

"Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen's conviction about Beethoven's "transcendental music" as analogous to Kant's "transcendental philosophy" is provocative and far-reaching, as is his persuasive view about the "philosophical stance of humor" embodied in Beethoven's later works. As Hinrichsen rightly observes, this music holds "a good amount of Idealism" and enlightened optimism that is urgently needed in our own troubled times."

"One of the most substantial recent additions to the Beethoven literature, Hinrichsen's book offers a finely judged account of the composer's evolving social position as well as an up-to-date picture of his artistic development. But the book's most signal achievement is its thoroughgoing, multifaceted, and persuasive demonstration of the relevance of Kant's critical philosophy to any understanding of both the man and his music. It is not just that the composer's position in the history of modern music is similarly pivotal to that of the philosopher's position in the history of modern thought. More importantly, Hinrichsen argues that Beethoven's worldview as captured in his music was fundamentally Kantian, centering on the notion of human autonomy and attempting to stage its reconciliation with the causal determinism of nature."

About the Author

Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen is professor emeritus for musicology at the University of Zurich.

Cynthia Klohr studied philosophy and literature in Detroit, Karlsruhe, and Heidelberg, and after earning her degrees, taught university courses in modern philosophy in both English and German.