The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue: A Phenomenology of Music by Bruce Ellis Benson

English | Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003 | 216 Pages | PDF | 1,2 MB
This book is an important contribution to the philosophy of music. Whereas most books in this field focus on the creation and reproduction of music, Bruce Benson's concern is the phenomenology of music making as an activity. He offers the radical thesis that it is improvisation that is primary in the moment of music making. Succinct and lucid, the book brings together a wide range of musical examples from classical music, jazz, early music and other genres.

It offers a rich tapestry incorporating both analytic and continental philosophy, musicology and performance-practice issues. It will be a provocative read for philosophers of art and musicologists and, because it eschews technicality, should appeal to general readers, especially those who perform.

• No technical knowledge of music required
• Very accessible
• A study of actual musical practice not musical theory