Absolute Music, Mechanical Reproduction

Recordings are now the primary way we hear classical music, especially the more abstract styles of "absolute" instrumental music. People are more likely to hear Beethoven or Brahms on an iPod than in the concert hall, and rare compositions are often available only in recorded form. In this original, provocative book, Arved Ashby argues that, just as photography redefined visual art, recording technology has transformed our understanding of art music. Contesting the laments of nostalgic critics, Ashby sees recordings as socially progressive and instruments of a musical vernacular, but also finds that recording and absolute music actually involve similar notions of removing sound from context. He takes stock of technology's impact on classical music, addressing the questions at the heart of the issue: How have recording and digital copying and remastering changed concepts of performance and ideas of music as text? Does literal repetition corrupt the meaning of a musical work, or enable new meanings? Is music a product or a service, and how are notions of access and ownership being changed by converging media? This erudite yet concise study reveals how mechanical reproduction has transformed classical musical culture and the very act of listening, breaking down aesthetic and generational barriers and mixing classical music into the soundtrack of everyday life.

Arved Ashby is Professor of Music at the Ohio State University. He is the editor of The Pleasure of Modernist Music and has published articles on twelve-tone composition, film music, minimalism, and Frank Zappa.