Absolute music: History of the idea

The book of the famous musicologist and music historian Mark Evan Bonds is devoted to the evolution of one of the most important and problematic aesthetic musical concepts, namely the concept of absolute music, and closely related issues of musical expression and ability (or inability) of this art of art to reflect any external In relation to it, objects or representations. This work covers almost the entire period of the existence of Western music, from Pythagoras to Ives and Cage, and contains a large number of quotes of musicians, critics and thinkers of different eras, which somehow expressed on this topic: its subject is considered from the perspective of musicology, sociology, institutional history and philosophy.
The book is intended for teachers and students of musical and humanitarian faculties of universities, as well as to everyone who is interested in the history and aesthetics of Western academic music