Lydia Goehr Music And Politics Analysis

Lydia Goehr breaks down the question of how music is tied to politics, and specifically addresses arguments of whether it should be or not. The author starts her discussion with a historical example with the inquest of composer Hanns Eisler by the Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). The author’s intention in presenting this case appears when she focuses on the defense Eisler. He made statements to the Committee that suggested his music was “music, and nothing else,” having nothing to do with politics. This was in sharp contrast to his previous works which had several political messages and had regarded music as “inseparable from politics.” The author takes these contrasting sentiments and continues their exploration through the terms of “crude solution” and “critical solution.” This “crude vs. critical” dichotomy exists as a means to encapsulate all of the philosophical ideas surrounding each concept. Beginning with the “crude solution,” Goehr presents the definition in terms of Cold War West and East-bloc. …show more content…
One point she makes about those skeptical of any relationship existing (music existing just for music’s sake) is that either they truly believe this or do not having the sufficient tools to describe it. She quickly dismisses the first with the statement of music’s meaning coming from “human beings who live in a human world,” music being a part of the human world. More interestingly, the second part, she attributes to what Wittgenstein states as logic’s unspeakable or indescribable relationship to the world, which translates to Attali’s statement as music being an “instrument for understanding” and the world “for hearing.” She ends with stating that this metaphysical issues leaves those who wish to tackle the problem more dealing with the issue than a solution, and the ultimate request to just stop and