Metaphors of Depth in German Musical Thought

Watkins presents a cultural history of metaphors of musical depth in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century German criticism and analysis.

Presenting a new perspective on a well-known musical and critical tradition, Watkins investigates the role of depth metaphors in the reception and composition of Austro-German music. From the Romantic aesthetics of Hoffmann to the modernist theories of Schoenberg, this book discusses music in relation to poetics, subjectivity and German nationalism.What does it mean to say that music is deeply moving? Or that music's aesthetic value derives from its deep structure? This study traces the widely employed trope of musical depth to its origins in German-language music criticism and analysis. From the Romantic aesthetics of E. T. A. Hoffmann to the modernist theories of Arnold Schoenberg, metaphors of depth attest to the cross-pollination of music with discourses ranging from theology, geology and poetics to psychology, philosophy and economics. The book demonstrates that the persistence of depth metaphors in musicology and music theory today is an outgrowth of their essential role in articulating and transmitting Germanic cultural values. While musical depth metaphors have historically served to communicate German nationalist sentiments, Watkins shows that an appreciation for the broad connotations of those metaphors opens up exciting new avenues for interpretation.