Jacques Barzun Turns 100
November 30, 1907 was a red letter day — the eminent scholar Jacques Barzun, was born that day in Créteil, France.
My most extensive exposure to Barzun's work was reading an abridged version of his study of Hector Berlioz and of Berlioz's era. A sample:
This was the only time that Berlioz asserted, indirectly but unmistakably, his priority in the musical leadership of the century, and he did this not because his claim was being challenged — he had made no claim — but because the doctrine of "ancestors and descendants" was being used to dispose cavalierly of the one claim he did make about his music, the claim in any work of art that it shall be judged for what it brings of new joy. (p. 396)
Labels: Arts, Special occasion
posted by Karen Nelson @ 11:34 PM
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