The inner world of Beethoven’s ninth symphony
Masculine and feminine
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8971502 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Francis Grier (0000-0003-3757-852X, Institute of Psychoanalysis, London, England, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 84-109 |
| Publication date | 2020-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7578 • E-ISSN: 1745-8315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00207578.2019.1696655 |
| OpenAlex | W3009332216 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
In this paper, I explore the principal model within classical Western music, the sonata form, in terms of its gendered narratives. Susan McClary, an eminent American musicologist, started to do this in the 1980s as part of her forceful feminist critique of academic musicology and the music considered to be “great” within the Western classical music canon. She has been especially critical of much of Beethoven’s music, particularly the Ninth Symphony, which, along with other major works, she considers to be structured along patriarchal lines, actively if unconsciously promoting the values of patriarchy, overflowing with male violence and female subordination, its narrative primarily based on phallic sexuality. Her influence has been very considerable in musicology. I set out her case and critique it psychoanalytically, but in so doing I also set out my own theory of sonata form and Beethoven’s music as imbued with, and expressive of, a bisexual narrative. As Beethoven’s forceful masculinity has long been recognized, I particularly emphasize and illustrate his musical femininity. I also discuss and employ theories of countertransference and Oedipal configurations in relationship to Beethoven’s music in particular, and in general the links between Western classical music and the musicality of ordinary clinical psychoanalysis
Aesthetics · Art · Literature · Music education · Music history · Musical · Musicology · Narrative · Patriarchy · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Symphony · Visual arts · Diverse Music Education Insights · Gender Studies · Music History and Culture · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Psychology
Contemplating music
Beyond Structural Listening?Postmodern Modes of Hearing
Alice Doesn’t
Countertransference and changes in the conception of the psychoanalytic relationship
The Classical Style
On Psychic Bisexuality
The Meanings and Uses of Countertransference
Roots and vicissitudes of psychic bisexuality
The International Journal of Psychoanalysis
Psychic bisexuality and creativity
Vicissitudes of bisexuality
Musicality in the consulting room
The Ragas of Early Indian Music
Material Gains
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |