Abstract
The aim of this paper is to reflect on the metaphor of ‘musical language’ in order to find a satisfying paradigm for musical expressiveness. First, I will review the idea of music as ‘language of emotions’. Then, I will present some authors from continental tradition, with particular attention to Giorgio Agamben’s reflection on the link between music and Stimmungen , seen as prelinguistic moods which determine the orientation of the human being. I will refuse Agamben’s approache and I will present Wittgenstein’s comparison between musical and linguistic understanding, in which the concept of gesture is central. In conclusion, using Luciano Berio’s and Guerino Mazzola’s reflections on musical gesture, I will propose a gestural paradigm for understanding musical expressiveness. I will indicate in the complexity of musical gesture a synthesis between bodily immediacy and cultural tradition that will help to refuse both the linguistic paradigm, based on the concept of ‘musical meaning’, and the pre-linguistic model of musical expressiveness, which take back to the platonic theory of ethos.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
