Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert

Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert

This extraordinary volume presents Dietrich von Hildebrand, one of the preeminent aesthetic philosophers of the twentieth century, in a mode unlike any of his other published works. Neither philosophy nor theology, neither biography nor personal appreciation, these essays achieve something rarer: capturing the true spirit of the music itself.

Hildebrand approaches the great composers with loving openness—the only stance, he argues, through which beauty fully reveals itself. He shows us Mozart’s radiant happiness, Beethoven’s victorious joy, and Schubert’s mysterious power, not through analysis but through reverent attention. The result is a book of profound insight and joyful discovery.

Dietrich von Hildebrand’s consideration of the works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert is something extraordinary and special.

Manfred Honeck

Beyond the core essays on Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, this new English edition includes treasures never before gathered in one volume: selections from Hildebrand’s unfinished writings on Wagner’s operas and his illuminating discussion of Bach and sacred music from his Aesthetics.