Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Most music we hear comes to us via a recording medium on which sound has been stored. Such remoteness of music heard from music made has become so commonplace it is rarely considered.
Musical Performance: A Philosophical Study considers the implications of this separation for live musical performance and music-making. Rather than examining the composition or perception of music as most philosophical accounts of music do, Stan Godlovitch takes up the problem of how the tradition of active music playing and performing has been challenged by technology and what problems this poses for philosophical aesthetics. Where does does the value of musical performance lie? Is human performance of music a mere transfer medium? Is the performance of music more expressive than recorded music? Musical Performance poses questions such as these to develop a fascinating account of music today. musicians - but via some recording medium on which sound has been stored.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Godlovitch, a philosopher, has produced several knowing articles on music and musical performance during the past dozen years. The sum of those pieces may be viewed as preparation for the current book, a comprehensive examination of the role of performance in the creation, production, and transmission of music. The first part of the book describes a model of performance, one based on the traditional view yet replete with insight into thorny areas (e.g., Is a compact disc a performance? Is merely playing a compact disc a performance?). In the most intriguing chapter, the author explores performance craft and the "guilds" that delimit the environment in which performers must operate. This may be as much cultural anthropology as philosophy, but it is an area that has received scant attention in the literature. The second part of the book discusses challenges to the traditional model, most of which have appeared only in the 20th century via technology or cross-pollination from other arts. This is a notable book, a clear and persuasive synthesis of old and new perspectives on some vital matters. Recommended to all libraries supporting music studies at the upper-division undergraduate level and above. B. J. Murray; University of Alabama