The Philosophy of Music: Theme and Variations

New and distinctive approaches to five central topics in musical aesthetics are provided in this outstanding book. The topics are: understanding, representation, expression, performance and profundity. The theme of the book is the failure of the orthodox view - that pieces of music are more or less self-contained structures of sound - to account for some important features of our musical experience, and to explain why music should matter to us.In exposing and correcting that failure, the book introduces readers to the main problems and positions in the philosophy of music, proposes fresh solutions to those problems, and offers innovative approaches to the philosophy of song, to musical ontology, and to questions about the value of music. Each chapter is built around a single musical work, which provides a focus for the reader. Features* Broad, accessible introductory overview to philosophy of music* Original and stimulating insights

Aaron Ridley is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton. He is the author of Nietzsche's Conscience: Six Character Studies from the 'Genealogy' (Cornell University Press, 1998), R.G. Collingwood: A Philosophy of Art (Orion Books, 1998) and Music, Value and the Passions (Cornell University Press, 1995) and the co-editor, with Alex Neill, of Arguing About Art (McGraw-Hill, 1995; 2nd edition: Routledge, 2002) and The Philosophy of Art (McGraw-Hill, 1995).