Against the New Musical Idealism; or, Listening for What May Be Otherwise

ABSTRACT Over the past three decades we have witnessed the emergence of what is here called the ‘New Musical Idealism’ – a strand of contemporary musicological thought represented by figures such as Julian Horton, Julian Johnson, J. P. E. Harper‐Scott and Kofi Agawu. The New Musical Idealists variously advocate for a strong understanding of musical autonomy, in which both formal‐technical analysis and aesthetic appreciation are shielded from, or even provide a bulwark against, commodification and the reifications of contemporary capitalism. Yet for all their talk of music and music analysis’ critical capacity, the New Musical Idealists ultimately realise a form of what Herbert Marcuse called affirmative culture – instead of critique, they offer consolation. Against such a temptation, it is argued here that music analysis may better fulfil a critical function through being historically grounded and dialectically attuned to the socio‐political conditions in which it is made and heard. This is modelled through a reading of Schoenberg's Sechs kleine Klavierstücke (1913), which attempts to show how instead of retreating from the world, music analysis may yet have a role in helping us articulate society's immanent contradictions.