Postmodern Music, Postmodern Listening

Rezensionen / Stimmen

The value and importance of the book is properly expressed in the conclusion of the preface by Jann Pasler ... Indeed a deep reading of this book will provoke an objective critical relationship towards postmodernism even among those (like myself) who cautiously use this term - if they use it at all. * International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music * Jonathan Kramer's Postmodern Music, Postmodern Listening reflects his voracious mind and offers the reader a highly original tour through the philosophy, aesthetics, and analysis of musical postmodernism. The book is both accessible and authoritative, and it fills an important gap in the musical literature. * Fred Lerdahl, Professor of Music, Columbia University, USA * A brilliant "both/and," inclusive thinker, Jonathan Kramer has always been accessible and engaging, eclectic and learned. As a consummate writer, teacher and composer, he has astutely theorized postmodernism-that slippery, contentious beast-from the evidence of contemporary music itself and from the social values of its listeners, as well as creators. In this multi-layered, innovative study of music in our world of "social saturation", the postmodern is neither a category nor an era: it is a way of hearing, a musical attitude shared by composers and listeners alike. This captivating book will make you rethink modernism, anti-modernism, and of course postmodernism. * Linda Hutcheon, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada * For years Jonathan Kramer has been the leading thinker on the vexed subject of postmodernism in music through his articles and lectures. Now his long-awaited book on the topic is finally posthumously out, and the subtlety and nuance with which he draws a consistent and reasonable argument from so much disparate and seemingly contradictory data is breathtaking. This is likely to be the standard work on musical postmodernism for a long time, and will vastly increase the depth of the discussion. * Kyle Gann, Hawver Professor of Music, Bard College, USA *