Overview

The first book-length study in English of composer Mathias Spahlinger, one of Germany’s leading practitioners of contemporary music. One of the most stimulating and provocative figures of the new music scene, Mathias Spahlinger has long been a touchstone for leftist, “critical” composition in Germany, yet his work has received very little attention in Anglophone scholarship until now.  Spahlinger’s practice offers a unique negotiation of the modernist legacy as well as passionate political and philosophical engagement. Born in 1944, today his position as one of the most venerable exponents of post-WWII modernism in his homeland is undeniable: his music is regularly performed, he has received commissions from many of the major orchestras and new music groups in Germany, and in 2014 he received the Berliner Kunstpreis, Berlin’s top art prize.  Bringing a critical perspective to Spahlinger’s life and work, this monograph provides an essential reference for scholars of new music and twentieth-century modernism.

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9781789387544

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Reviews

'While on the one hand, Neil Thomas Smith succeeds in filling up a void in academic literature on Spahlinger in English, his writing exceeds that purpose by bringing Spahlinger’s work into a general cultural and political context.[...] What is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Smith’s book is the detailed analysis of many notable works of Spahlinger, which generations of composers will find very useful after listening to the music. On the whole therefore, this very enlightening book illustrates how one of the most influential composers at the dawn of the 21st century put thought and sound into the wholeness of his unique works that continue to intrigue the global artistic community.' -- Jonas Baes, Popular Music

'While on the one hand, Neil Thomas Smith succeeds in filling up a void in academic literature on Spahlinger in English, his writing exceeds that purpose by bringing Spahlinger’s work into a general cultural and political context.[...] What is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Smith’s book is the detailed analysis of many notable works of Spahlinger, which generations of composers will find very useful after listening to the music. On the whole therefore, this very enlightening book illustrates how one of the most influential composers at the dawn of the 21st century put thought and sound into the wholeness of his unique works that continue to intrigue the global artistic community.' -- Jonas Baes, Popular Music 'Smith's book is a valuable contribution to contemporary music scholarship and to the debates around modernism and political aesthetics, particularly in the UK, where such things are far less frequently discussed. The main strength of Smith's book is its much needed overview of Spahlinger's works and aesthetic. Smith divides this into four principal themes – musique concrète instrumentale, order, open form and perception – within each of which he analyses and provides critical commentary upon representative compositions. [...] Smith writes concisely and perceptively about the music and its themes.' -- Tim Rutherford-Johnson, Tempo

Author Information

Neil Thomas Smith is a researcher and composer based in Edinburgh. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music. Martin Iddon is a musicologist and composer. He studied musicology and composition at the University of Durham and University of Cambridge with John Butt and Ian Cross (musicology), as well as Robin Holloway and Fabrice Fitch (composition), and has studied composition privately with Chaya Czernowin, Steven Kazuo Takasugi, Ole Lützow-Holm and Steve Martland. His articles have been published in journals such as Musical Quarterly, Twentieth-Century Music and Contemporary Music Review. His music has been performed in Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Spain, Italy and the USA, and has been shortlisted by Sound and Music. He currently lectures at the University of Leeds.

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