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.
| ISBN: | 9781107181410 |
| Publication date: | 26th October 2017 |
| Author: | Joanne (University of Nottingham) Cormac |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 378 pages |
| Genres: |
Composers and songwriters Art music, orchestral and formal music Literary studies: poetry and poets |