Musik & Ästhetik, 1997, Jg. 1, Ausgabe 4

Derrida´s Ear

The paper presents a bio-philosophical anatomy of the ›Derridian ear‹. The ear as the home of the autoerotic subject is opposed to a very different ear which opens onto the outside world. This deconstruction can be interpreted as quite a different mode of hearing. The experience of the impossibility of internalising that which is outside; the nonappropriatability of the other is an essential experience of death. An ear sensibilised for the ›outside‹ becomes mortal. The voice which produces the illusion of autonomy and ideality is contrasted with another voice. The development of a phenomenology of the voice engages critically with Derrida´s description of the voice. This reading of the voice draws attention to a phenomenal aspect of the voice which Derrida´s theory is not able to accommodate. The experience of the voice which according to Derrida lies at the heart of »phonocentrism« restricts the phenomenon of the voice. In contrast to Derrida this paper addresses the resonant voice which has a tone a body a volume. A voice capable of disrupting the subject´s imaginary peace. This rehabilitation of the voice or the tone of the voice has a metaphysical-critical potential. Thus Derrida´s »Grammatology« is not the only possible criticism of »phonocentrism«.

Franz Schubert – Morton Feldman: Tangents

As a result of the dissolution of linear thought a new understanding of musical structure and its dependence on the experience of linear time emerges in Franz Schubert´s and Morton Feldman´s work. Thought culminating in dialectical concepts has prompted the formulation of specific theoretical terms capable of describing thematical relations. Concepts such as coherence development contrast etc. must therefore be redefined when the contextual aspect gives way to processes which can no longer be described as transformations of structures. Using examples from both Schubert´s and Feldman´s works the paper attempts to show how musical and conceptual categories are redefined. Different stages of appropriation become apparent which can be described as 1) crisis of coherence 2) expressive integration of the crisis 3) first signs of abstraction and 4) the autonomy of sound. It is argued that the analysis of their music would demand a similar modification of conceptual frameworks. A new concept of continuity defined in opposition to coherence is a focus of the 20th Century both aesthetically and with regards to composition. In this sense the approaches developed in this paper create points of contact: they form tangents.

Understanding Music: Adorno in England

Adorno and Analysis: The topic of the conference held in Bristol in 1997 does not merely touch a central aspect of Adorno´s philosophy of music – which despite all proclamatory announcements remains ambiguous when submitted to concrete analysis. It also leads to a more general problem which accompanies every act of understanding to some extent namely the question of the relationship between the analytically describable and verifyable object of knowledge – here a specific composition – to its contextual background. Although not directly accessible the contextual background is able to provide more significant information on the motivational kernel of a piece of music than a purely technical understanding of its particularities would allow. Seeking an answer to this question the paper attempts to give an impression of the conference. This leads to three theses: 1. There is no uncontradictory relationship between the immanent form of a work of art and its connection with the outside world. The relationship is realized discontinuously as a dialectical change. 2. Likewise the contextual framework – the subjective impulses and divergent traditions which are present within the work of art – does not form an uncontradictory unity. The idea of a constellation of discrete points of view does not do justice to music´s contradictory condition. 3. Only in the development of music within time does a transition between the individual and the general become apparent. Analysis should therefore focus on time.

»Vortex temporum« by Gérard Grisey. The Dissolving of Material in Time

»Vortex temporum « (1994–96) ist the most recent work by Gérard Grisey. In his treatment of the material and the way he maintains the meaning throughout all the transformations Grisey´s current musical interests are shown in characteristic fashion. The source material of the entire three-movement opus is comprised of an arpeggio from »Daphnis et Chloé« by Ravel which takes its content from the prevailing context (harmonic temporal and formal). This form is the basis of several levels of the work from the local rhythmicdiastematic cell up to and including the grand formal architecture. In »Vortex temporum« Grisey layers three types of temporalities: the usual one (of the spoken language) the extended one (of the spectra) and the condensed time.

The End of the Avant-garde? To Donaueschingen and Darmstadt

Based on a current example (due to the anniversary in 1996) of probably the two most important international festivals for contemporary music – Donaueschinger Musiktage and Darmstädter Ferienkurse – the present crisis in the new music scene is presented. A mixture of lack of orientation lacking management fear of unconventional solutions absence of courage and a clear turn towards postmodernism (with which a break with its own tradition must be accepted) shows how important it is now at the end of the 20th century to think anew – without prejudice – about the future of concert music that is radical uncompromising and one which is obliged to demanding quality. It is becoming increasingly urgent to go down new roads if the special realm of ›new‹ music wants to be able to justify itself aesthetically and socially.

Aesthetics as a University Subject

Coming from different disciplines within the human sciences the authors argue that it is vital to institutionalise aesthetics as an independent interdisciplinary subject within universities. This is in order to ›counteract‹ the lack of conceptual and methodological foundations in the formation and transference of aesthetic criteria in and between the arts. This becomes clear in some sketches which outline towards a preliminary concept of a general aesthetics as it would seem practical today. This could contribute to the conception of the theoretical foundations of a university subject on aesthetics. Following on from there the authors discuss the university as the obvious institutional environment for a general aesthetics. Considerations about the practicability of such a project address possible degreeprograms coursecontents researchareas and jobopportunities as well the necessary reorganisation of existing structures.