"Music at the Limits" is the first book to bring together three decades of Edward W. Said's essays and articles on music. Addressing the work of a variety of composers, musicians, and performers, Said carefully draws out music's social, political, and cultural contexts and, as a classically trained pianist, provides rich and often surprising assessments of classical music and opera. "Music at the Limits" offers both a fresh perspective on canonical pieces and a celebration of neglected works by contemporary composers. Said faults the Metropolitan Opera in New York for being too conservative and laments the way in which opera superstars like Pavarotti have "reduced opera performance to a minimum of intelligence and a maximum of overproduced noise." He also reflects on the censorship of Wagner in Israel; the worrisome trend of proliferating music festivals; an opera based on the life of Malcolm X; the relationship between music and feminism; the pianist Glenn Gould; and the works of Mozart, Bach, Richard Strauss, and others. Said wrote his incisive critiques as both an insider and an authority. He saw music as a reflection of his ideas on literature and history and paid close attention to its composition and creative possibilities. Eloquent and surprising, "Music at the Limits" preserves an important dimension of Said's brilliant intellectual work and cements his reputation as one of the most influential and groundbreaking scholars of the twentieth century.

作者简介

萨义德，1935年生于巴勒斯坦的耶路撒冷，接受过英式教育，取得哈佛大学博士学位，哥伦比亚大学英文系与比较文学系教授，担任The Nation杂志乐评，著作等身，包括《乡关何处》（又译《格格不入》）、《文化与帝国主义》、《东方主义》。他由哥伦比亚大学出版社出版的著作包括《康拉德与自传小说》、《人文主义与民主的批评》、《开始：意图与方法》、《音乐的阐释》及《并行与吊诡》。2003年逝于纽约。

译者简介

彭淮栋，1953年生。译有《后殖民理论》（Bart Moore-Gilbert）、《意义》（博蓝尼）、《俄国思想家》（以撒•柏林）、《自由主义之后》（华勒斯坦）、《西方政治思想史》（麦克里兰）、《乡关何处》（萨义德）、《现实意义》（以撒•柏林）、《贝多芬：阿多诺的音乐哲学》（阿多诺）、《美的历史》和《丑的历史》（艾可）等书。