Philosophical reflections on Gluck's operatic reform

Bibliogr. s. 23-25

Within 19th century philosophical reflections on music, Gluck's opera reform was met with some doubts. This skepticism can be exemplified by the assessments of Schopenhauer, Wagner and Nietzsche. Whether this skeptical attitude should also be shared against the background of contemporary philosophical reflections is something I discuss in this article. The analysis presented in this article contains three parts. In the first part, I outline the thrust of Gluck's proposed opera reform. In the second part, I analyze the philosophical skepticism of these suggestions by Schopenhauer, Wagner and Nietzsche. In the third and final part, I question the assessment of Gluck's opera reform from a current perspective.