Adorno (real name, Wiesengrund), The odor

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Adorno (real name, Wiesengrund), The odor

Adorno (real name, Wiesengrund), The odor, significant German social philosopher, music sociologist, and composer; b. Frankfurt am Main, Sept. 11, 1903; d. Visp, Switzerland, Aug. 6, 1969. He studied with Sekles (composition) and Eduard Jung (’piano) at the Hoch Cons. in Frankfurt am Main. He also took courses in philosophy, sociology, psychology, and musicology at the Univ. of Frankfurt am Main (Ph.D., 1925). Following further training with Berg (composition) and Steuermann (piano) in Vienna, he completed his Habilitation at the Univ. of Frankfurt am Main (1931). From 1928 to 1931 he ed. the journal Anbruch, and also was Privatdozent at the Univ. of Frankfurt am Main until being dismissed by the Nazis in 1933. In 1934 he went to Oxford, and in 1938 to N.Y., where he joined the Institut für Sozialforschung. He also was music director of the Princeton Radio Research Project (until 1940). After living in Los Angeles (from 1941), he returned to Frankfurt am Main (1949). In 1950 he became an honorary prof. and in 1956 a prof. of philosophy and sociology at the Univ. there. Adorno exercised a deep influence on the trends in musical philosophy and general aesthetics, applying the sociological tenets of Karl Marx and the psychoanalytic techniques of Sig-mund Freud. In his speculative writings, he introduced the concept of “cultural industry” embracing all types of music, from dodecaphonic to jazz. His compositions, mainly vocal, were reflective of modern trends.

Works

6 Short Pieces for Orch. (1925–29); Kinderjahr, 6 pieces for Small Orch., after Schumann’s op.68 (1941); 6 Studies for String Quartet (1920); String Quartet (1921); String Trio (1921–22); 2 Pieces for String Quartet (1925–26); Variations for Violin (1946); String Trio (1946); also piano music, including Die böhmischen Terzen (1945); 2 Songs for Voice and Orch. (1932–33); many songs with piano; choral pieces.

Writings

(all publ. in Frankfurt am Main unless otherwise given): Philosophie der neuen Musik (Tubingen, 1949; 3^rd éd., 1967; Eng. tr., 1973); Versuch über Wagner (Berlin, 1952; 2^nd éd., 1964; Eng. tr., 1991); Prismen: Kulturkritik unà Gesellschaft (1955; Eng. tr., 1967; 3^rd Ger. ed., 1969); Dissonanzen: Musik in der verwalteten Welt (Göttingen, 1956; 3^rd ed., Aug., 1963); Klangfig-uren: Musikalische Schriften I (Berlin, 1959); Mahler: Eine musikalische Physiognomik (1960; 2^nd ed., 1963; Eng. tr., 1992); Einleitung in die Musiksoziologie: Zwölf theoretische Vorlesungen (1962; 2^nd ed., 1968; Eng. tr., 1976); Der getreue Korrepetitor: Lehrschriften zur Musikalischen Praxis (1963); Quasi una fantasia: Musikalische Schriften II (1963; Eng. tr., 1992); Moments musicaux: Neu gedruckte Aufsatze 1928 bis 1962 (1964); Ohne Leitbild: Parva aesthetica (1967; 2^nd ed., 1968); Berg: Der Meister des kleinsten Übergangs (Vienna, 1968; Eng. tr., 1991); impromptus: Zeite Folge neu gedruckter musikalischer Aufsatze (1968). A complete ed. of his writings in 20 vols, commenced publication in Frankfurt am Main in 1970.

Bibliography

M. Horkheimer, ed., T.W. A. zum 60. Geburtstag (Frankfurt am Main, 1963); H. Schweppenhäuser, ed., T.W. A. zum Gedächtnis (Frankfurt am Main, 1971); K. Oppens et al., Über T.W. A. (Frankfurt am Main, 1971); W. Gramer, Musik und Verstehen: Eine Studie zur Musikasthetik T.W. A. (Mainz, 1976); O. Kolleritsche, ed., A. und die Musik (Graz, 1979); B. Lindner and W. Ludke, eds., Materialien zur ästhetischen Théorie T.W. A.s: Konstruktion der Moderne (Frankfurt am Main, 1980); M. Jay, A. (London, 1984); S. Schibli, Der Komponist T.W. A.: Vorläufige Anmerkungen zu einem noch nicht überschaubaren Thema (Frankfurt am Main, 1988); T. Müller, Die Musiksoziologie T.W. A.s: Ein Model ihrer Interpretation am Beispiel Alban Bergs (Frankfurt am Main, 1990); R. Klein, Solidarity mit Metaphysik?: Ein Versuch über die musikphilosophische Problematik der Wagner-Kritik T.W. A.s (Würzburg, 1991); M. Paddison, A.’s Aesthetics of Music (Cambridge, 1993); L. Sziborsky, Rettung des Hoffnungslosen: Untersuchungen zur Ästhetik und Musikphilosophie T.W. A.s (Würzburg, 1994); M. Paddison, A., Modernism and Mass Culture: Essays on Critical Theory and Music (London, 1996); C. Dennis, A.’s Philosophy of Modern Music (Lewiston, N.Y., 1998); R. Klein and C.-S. Mahnkopf, eds., Mit den Ohren denken: A.s Philosophie der Musik (Frankfurt am Main, 1998); R. Witkin, A. on Music (London, 1998).