Liszt and the symphonic poem / Joanne Cormac
- Author
- Cormac, Joanne
- Published
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2017.
- Physical Description
- 1 online resource (xiv, 366 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).
Access Online
- Summary
- Franz Liszt was preoccupied with a fundamental but difficult question: what is the content of music? His answer lay in his symphonic poems, a group of orchestral pieces intended to depict a variety of subjects drawn from literature, visual art and drama. Today, the symphonic poems are usually seen as alternatives to the symphony post-Beethoven. Analysts stress their symphonic logic, thereby neglecting their 'extramusical' subject matter. This book takes a different approach: it returns these influential pieces to their original performance context in the theatre, arguing that the symphonic poem is as much a dramatic as a symphonic genre. This is evidenced in new analyses of the music that examines the theatricality of these pieces and their depiction of voices, mise-en-scène, gesture and action. Simultaneously, the book repositions Liszt's legacy within theatre history, arguing that his contributions should be placed alongside those of Mendelssohn, Berlioz and Wagner.
- Subject(s)
- ISBN
- 9781316850374 (ebook)
9781107181410 (hardback)
9781316632642 (paperback) - Note
- Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Oct 2017).
View MARC record | catkey: 34829867