Abstract

The major part of the textbook includes original studies developed especially for this course, since in the local literature did not then exist any relevant publication to cover a significant part of the material taught. The studies analyze the main directions in the systematic reflection on music from Pythagoras to F. W. Schelling. At the same time, they examine musical life (from antiquity to modernity) from a sociological perspective, considering the broader development of the western civilization.

The textbook organizes the material presented during the course. The objective is to introduce to the students the main directions in the development of the sociological and philosophical thought about this particular form of art. The systematic approach contributes to comprehend in a better way some of the issues that emerge during modernity when new social formations and cultural phenomena appear on a local, as well as on a global level.

The studies, apart from the basic historical knowledge that is essential to achieve the objectives of the course, they outline the various tendencies of the musical culture in the context of the social dynamics. They also focus on the relation of the various views with the social reality where they appear, mature and fade out. The studies analyze also the social and historical aspects of the aesthetic ideals dominant during various periods and expressed in certain forms of artistic communication and practice.