Music's Monisms: Disarticulating Modernism

Daniel Albright was a renowned scholar of musical and literary modernism who explored the relationship between music and literature through the lens of monism, which rejects binary structures in favor of a unified perspective. He identified a "radical monism" in the works of modernist poets and composers, arguing that the basic dichotomies that govern our thinking and organizing the universe are interchangeable and even identical. Albright's work is a groundbreaking contribution to modernist studies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 05 November 2021
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Daniel Albright, a renowned scholar of musical and literary modernism, left a substantial legacy with his profound contributions before his untimely passing. In his book, Musics Monisms, Albright explores the potential of examining musical and literary phenomena through the lens of monism, a philosophical belief that rejects binary structures in understanding reality. He demonstrates that, despite the apparent dichotomies in music, such as diatonic versus chromatic, major versus minor, tonal versus atonal, there exists a larger system at work that seeks to reconcile tensions and resolve conflicts. Albright identifies a "radical monism" in the works of modernist poets like T. S. Eliot and musical compositions by Wagner, Debussy, Britten, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky. Radical monism posits the interchangeability and even sameness of the fundamental dichotomies that shape our thinking and organize the universe. Through meticulous close readings of various musical and literary works, Albright presents compelling philosophical arguments that not only shed light on these specific figures but also extend to the broader realm of aesthetic experience. Musics Monisms is a groundbreaking work by one of the most distinguished figures in modernist studies.

Weight: 566g
Dimension: 161 x 244 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226791227