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How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization.
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Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization Paperback - 2003
by Stuart Isacoff
Featuring a new Afterword, this narrative explores the reinvention of the piano--a story that encompasses social history, religion, philosophy, and science as well as musicology--in a concise and sparkling narrative. 45 illustrations.
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From the jacket flap
Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes on today's pianos was once regarded as a crime against God and nature, or that such legendary thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, da Vinci, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and Rousseau played a role in the controversy. Indeed, from the time of the Ancient Greeks through the eras of Renaissance scientists and Enlightenment philosophers, the relationship between the notes of the musical scale was seen as a key to the very nature of the universe.
In this engaging and accessible account, Stuart Isacoff leads us through the battles over that scale, placing them in the context of quarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics and science. The contentious adoption of the modern tuning system known as "equal temperament called into question beliefs that had lasted nearly two millenia-and also made possible the music of Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and all who followed. Filled with original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits of some of the greatest geniuses of all time, Temperament is that rare book that will delight the novice and expert alike.
In this engaging and accessible account, Stuart Isacoff leads us through the battles over that scale, placing them in the context of quarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics and science. The contentious adoption of the modern tuning system known as "equal temperament called into question beliefs that had lasted nearly two millenia-and also made possible the music of Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and all who followed. Filled with original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits of some of the greatest geniuses of all time, Temperament is that rare book that will delight the novice and expert alike.
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- Title Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization
- Author Stuart Isacoff
- Binding Paperback
- Edition First Thus
- Pages 288
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Vintage, New York
- Date February 4, 2003
- Illustrated Yes
- Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
- ISBN 9780375703300 / 0375703306
- Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
- Dimensions 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 in (20.32 x 12.95 x 1.52 cm)
- Library of Congress subjects Music - Philosophy and aesthetics, Musical intervals and scales
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 2001033805
- Dewey Decimal Code 784.192
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Temperament : How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization
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