Eine „unmögliche" Theorie der Musik

An ambitious examination of the journalistic writings of art-and-music critic Oscar Bie – best known to his reading public for his striking pronouncement of opera as an “impossible art form” – the present volume explores the extension of his notion of “the impossible” as a necessary driver of his art-related thinking, generating solutions well beyond the boundaries of the genre of opera. The impetus that drives this notion emerges from Bie’s consistent juxtaposition of the autonomous aspects of music alongside its social functions. In the present study, an “impossible” theory of music emerges from within these conflicts inherent in Bie’s project, affording us a grasp of the scope and productivity of his thought.