V.M. Rozin The Essence and Mystery of Music

Abstract: The paper presents a new philosophical concept of music, while the author also draws upon his research experience in the sphere of methodology, culturology and the humanities. It formulates the problems that are to be resolved: to find an explanation for the strong influence of music on a human and different understandings thereof; the irreducibility of music to just technique and sound - making a dilemma: whether music is a language, or a symbolic system. There exists a hypothesis that music, on the one hand, constitutes a life form as a solution of personality problems, and, on the other hand, it represents an artistic reality. Basic characteristics of the artistic reality are discussed: the textual nature, the unity of experiencing and arranging the events thereof, the role of personality. Such notions as ‘expressive means’, ‘material of art’, ‘artistic form are analyzed, and it is stated that the whole is formed in music by expressive means and the artist’s personality. In the last part of the paper, the author substantiates the initial hypothesis about the nature of music, compares music with other temporary art forms, demonstrates that classical music was formed as a life form that allowed a modern-European personality implement the three main aspects of his/her being. A notion of music culture is introduced as another important music characteristic. In the process of the development of the proposed music concept, the author used human cognition methodology, the comparative analysis of different art forms, case analysis, genetic considerations, method of perfect object problematization and structuring. As a result, he has managed to build a new philosophical concept of music, to resolve a series of problems defined in respect of music, and hopes to have partially revealed the mystery of music. An important aspect of such a mystery is that while listening to music a person actualizes his existential problems exactly in the form of musical timing and work involving the reading and artistic comprehension of the musical matter and form.

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