Musicology

by Joseph Kerman

In the last forty years musicology has become a flourishing academic discipline and has impressed itself upon every musician and music lover. Professor Kerman's book is the first full-scale account of American and British musicology over this, the main span of its development.

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Joseph Wilfred Kerman -- born Zukerman -- (1924 - 2014) was an American critic and musicologist. One of the leading musicologists of his generation, his 1985 book Contemplating Music: Challenges to Musicology (published in the UK as Musicology) was described by Philip Brett in The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as "a defining moment in the field." He was Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews

[Mai]

As I kept reading it, most of it just flew over my head - possibly because my understanding of music theory and history is incredibly limited. I can see why this is kind of a controversial book, though - some sentences caused a lot of questions even to the previous reader. Possibly a good read if you are actually knowledgeable on the subject, but after almost 50 pages all I had learned was that Germans were a huge influence on musicology and that Russians for some reason like Mozart, so I chose not to spend any more time on it.

[Stockflyer]

I only rated this on my interests. I have tried to read it twice and it isn't anything I can concentrate on. You may really enjoy the topic. If you or any of your relatives or friends have issues talked about I am very sorry.