What Does Music Mean?

What Does Music Mean?

Today is a bit of an unusual episode. Last month I was invited by the British Society of Aesthetics to address their annual conference. My task was to give a lecture on whatever topic I wanted, having to do with music. So, considering it was an Academic Philosophy conference, I chose the easiest and most straightforward topic possible - What Does Music Mean?

Obviously, this is a topic that has been interrogated from just about every different angle, and I certainly would never claim to have all the answers. But for my lecture, I decided to focus on how to find meaning in these amazing works from a performer's perspective. How do I study and learn these pieces so that I can find the meaning that I think is inside of them? What does history teach us about these pieces and can we use history to find meaning in these works? To try to answer these questions I chose three pieces to explore - Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, Barber's Adagio for Strings, and Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. After the lecture I realized it could easily be a podcast episode, so I've slightly changed a few things to make the lecture a bit more podcast-friendly. I hope you enjoy this one, and thanks to the British Society of Aesthetics for their invitation and their warm welcome!

Episoder(284)

Berg Violin Concerto

Berg Violin Concerto

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Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 135

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 135

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Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique LIVE w/ The Aalborg Symphony

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique LIVE w/ The Aalborg Symphony

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Shostakovich Symphony No. 8

Shostakovich Symphony No. 8

Here are two statements by Dmitri Shostakovich about the same piece, the 8th symphony that we are talking about today: Statement No. 1, Shostakovich's published comments about the symphony when it was...

12 Des 20241h 8min

Literary Works in Classical Music

Literary Works in Classical Music

My Patreon sponsor for this episode, Adrian, set me a challenge: The influence of literary works on classical compositions, exploring pieces inspired by poetry, novels, or plays. He also asked me to d...

27 Nov 202446min

Brahms Clarinet Quintet

Brahms Clarinet Quintet

The muses were Ancient Greek goddesses of inspiration. Throughout history, the term muse has been used to describe any number of people, all of whom inspired works of great art and/or literature. In t...

14 Nov 202451min

Politics in Classical Music

Politics in Classical Music

Classical music and politics have never been easy bedfellows. Composers and performers throughout history have relied on patronage and support from wealthy sources in order to keep their dreams afloat...

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Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from Westside Story

Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from Westside Story

The original production of Westside Story ran for 732 performances, spawned a movie that won 11 Academy Awards, and is still a go to on every list of the greatest Broadway Musicals ever written. The ...

24 Okt 202442min

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