Philosophie der Musik in Ernst Blochs frühem Hauptwerk Geist der Utopie

Without doubt, music takes on an important role in the works of the German philosopher Ernst Bloch (1885-1977). With his early magnum opus The Spirit of Utopia, he laid the foundation for his lifelong occupation with this topic.
Reinke Schwinning commentates key passages of the book’s crucial chapter, Bloch’s “Philosophy of Music”. Methodically, he investigates the intellectual and musical contexts of the text. Among others, he reveals intellectual connections to Richard Wagner, Hans Pfitzner, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche and Immanuel Kant. Besides, he outlines Bloch’s musical references, which are widely limited to some of the “great names”: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler or Bruckner. Eventually, Schwinnings commentary brings the structural and logical stringency of Bloch’s “Philosophy of Music” to light, which is hidden behind his expressionistic and complex diction.