2015. január 26., hétfő

The philosopher who raped the muse

The music of Nietzsche


Besides creating a philosophy that turned out to be a game changer for Western culture, Nietzsche also wrote poetry and  composed music. Below are some examples of his compositions.    

While  authors today seem to agree that the philosopher’s “music reveals a definite talent and a natural mode of expression” (DeVoto, 1994)  reception from Nietzsche’s contemporaries was a bit harsher. Asking for feedback on his work, the Manfred Meditation, Hans von Bülow, a noted musicalof the time commented that  “you can find no worse way of killing time than raping Euterpe in this fashion”.
Subsequently composing has marginalised in the life Nietzsche, and to this day he is mainly thought of ‘only’ as a philosopher.




While I have no training in music, personally I find Nietzsche’s music enjoyable.  So the message to take home (for all Nietzsches of tomorrow): do not trust your critics, judge yourself.     






DeVoto, M. (1994). “Reviewe of The Music of Friedrich Nietzsche for Piano Four Hands by Friedrich Nietzsche” in.: Notes, Second Series, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 1577-1578.


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