Eduard Hanslick's On the Musically Beautiful (Vom Musikalisch-Sch??nen, 1854), written and published before the author turned 30, is a watershed document in the history of aesthetics, and of thought about music generally.The notion of "absolute music," which lies at the heart of the treatise, is now more than ever at the center of discussions about music, particularly that of the Classic and Romantic eras. Rothfarb and Landerer's translation includes three introductory essays offering fresh perspectives on Hanslick, and on the origins, publications, and translation history of his treatise, as well as its central concepts and philosophical underpinnings. The volume also includes thorough annotations, a readers' guide, a glossary of important terms and concepts, and an appendix, which comprises the original opening of Chapter 1, substantially rewritten in subsequent editions, as well as the original ending of the treatise that was excised by Hanslick in later editions. The book's ideas, cogently and often wittily expressed, are mandatory reading for anyone interested in eighteenth and nineteenth-century music and its cultural and intellectual background.

Translators' PrefaceIntroductory Essays1. Origins, Publication, and Translation History of the TreatiseChristoph Landerer, Alexander Wilfing, Lee Rothfarb2. Introduction to Hanslick's Central ConceptsChristoph Landerer, Lee Rothfarb3. Philosophical BackgroundChristoph Landerer, Lee RothfarbReaders' Guide: Alternative Routes Through the TreatiseLee Rothfarb, Christoph LandererOn the Musically Beautiful, 10th editionPrefaceChapter 1, The Aesthetics of FeelingChapter 2, The "Representation of Feelings" is not the Content of MusicChapter 3, The Musically BeautifulChapter 4, Analysis of the Subjective Impression of MusicChapter 5, Aesthetic Compared to Pathological Perception of MusicChapter 6, The Relation of Music to NatureChapter 7, The Concepts "Content" and "Form" in MusicAppendix: Chapter 1, 1st edition (excerpt)Chapter 7, 1st edition, conclusionContextualizing CommentarySelected Sources for Further Reading