Author Description
Johann Sebastian Bach's Legacy Is Undeniably One Of The Richest In The History Of Music, With A Vast Influence On Posterity That Has Only Grown Since His Rediscovery In The Early Nineteenth Century. In This Latest Addition To His Long List Of Bach Studies, Renowned Bach Scholar Russell Stinson Examines How Four Of The Greatest Composers Of The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries - Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, And Edward Elgar - Engaged With Bach's Legacy, Not Only As Composers Per Se, But Also As Performers, Conductors, Scholars, Critics, And All-around Musical Ambassadors. Detailed Analyses Of Both Musical And Epistolary Sources Shed Light On How These Later Masters Heard And Received Bach's Music Within Their Musical Circles, While Colorful Anecdotes About Their Bach Reception Help Humanize Them, Reconstructing The Intimate Social Circumstances In Which They Performed And Discussed Bach's Music. Stinson Focuses On Mendelssohn's And Schumann's Reception Of Bach's Organ Works, Schumann's Encounter With The St. Matthew And St. John Passions, Wagner's Musings On The Well-tempered Clavier, And Elgar's (resoundingly Negative) Thoughts On Bach As A Vocal Composer. Engagingly Written, Copiously Annotated, And Thoroughly Up To Date, Bach's Legacy Traces The Historical Afterlife Of Bach's Music And Offers Fascinating Insights Into How These Later Masters Defined It For Their Audiences And Beyond.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the multifaceted ways in which four prominent nineteenth and twentieth-century composers—Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wagner, and Elgar—engaged with and interpreted the musical legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach. Russell Stinson, a recognized authority in Bach studies, utilizes a combination of musical scores, personal correspondence, and historical documentation to reconstruct the reception history of Bach's work. The text argues that these later masters did not merely inherit Bach's influence but actively shaped his reputation through their roles as performers, conductors, and critics.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Comparative analysis of Bach's reception by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wagner, and Elgar.
- Examination of specific works including the organ compositions, the St. Matthew and St. John Passions, and The Well-Tempered Clavier.
- Integration of primary source materials such as letters, diaries, and contemporary critical writings.
Scope Limits
- The study is limited to the specific reception history of these four composers and does not provide a comprehensive survey of all Bach reception in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and musicologists frequently cite this work for its meticulous archival research and its ability to bridge the gap between technical musical analysis and historical biography. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of how Bach's influence was mediated through the perspectives of later musical giants.
Page Count:
192
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190091231
ISBN-13:
9780190091231
Biography
Musicology
Cultural History
Music History