Volume 11, Number 5 · September 26, 1968
A Realm of Truth
By Igor Stravinsky
The Beethoven Quartets
by Joseph Kerman
Knopf, 379 pp., $10.00
Mr. Kerman is a high-minded guide. I recommended him to high-minded readers, as well as to credit-minded students in need of a crib—if in these days of student power anyone still is. I also urge musicians to try the book, especially those who despise ancillas and tend to shirk harmonic algebra and the other relationships Mr. Kerman details. But general readers should try it, too. They will complain of key-naming and harmonic path-mapping. Yet Mr. Kerman never loses sight of the grand design of each quartet, and he can still be followed at that elevation by sidestepping the thickets of technical exposition. Music is the subject of the book, in any case, not Beethoven's illustrations of the author's critical principles, and not 'functional' analysis nor the other brands that prowl about nowadays like solutions in search of problems.
Review, 3497 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |