This book interprets the music theory of Henrich Schenker (1868-1935) as part of a comprehensive project encompassing not just musical reform but social and political critique. It sets his work into the contexts of Viennese modernism, German cultural conservatism, and Schenker's position as a Jewish immigrant to the city where modern anti-semitism first developed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; ABBREVIATIONS; INTRODUCTION: SCHENKER'S CONTEXTS; CONCLUSION: MUSIC THEORY AS SOCIAL PRACTICE; LIST OF REFERENCES; APPENDIX: 'THE SPIRIT OF MUSICAL TECHNIQUE', TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM PASTILLE; INDEX

"Cook...assembles yet another rich cultural study of this already well-researched time period but with the added benefit of illustrating the degree to which a field as seemingly abstract as music theory can be a site of political contestation...The Schenker Project offers a riveting account of how music comes to be 'imbued with worldly meaning' (318)--a process that was not without its dark side in the early decades of the twentieth century." --Austrian History Yearbook "Nicholas Cook has whipped up an intellectual feast for all those interested in Schenker, his theories, and the cultural melting pot of turn-of-the-century Vienna. Schenker's story-that of a Polish Jew who became, in his own estimation, the only living representative of German music-is too strange for fiction. Cook brings to it impressive erudition, fair-mindedness, and a flair for vivid narration."-William Rothstein, Professor of Music Theory at Queens College and The Graduate Center of The City University of New York. "The Schenker Project offers an even-handed and meticulously researched account of the life's work of the twentieth century's greatest theorist of tonal music, set squarely for the first time in the culture of the fin-de-siècle Vienna. This is intellectual history at its best. Persuasive in both its large-scale narrative sweep and in its wealth of provocative insights along the way, this book's impact on Schenkerian studies will be felt for years to come."- Patrick McCreless, Professor of Music Theory, Yale University "Nicholas Cook has whipped up an intellectual feast for all those interested in Schenker, his theories, and the cultural melting pot of turn-of-the-century Vienna. Schenker's story-that of a Polish Jew who became, in his own estimation, the only living representative of German music-is too strange for fiction. Cook brings to it impressive erudition, fair-mindedness, and a flair for vivid narration."-William Rothstein, Professor of Music Theory at Queens College and The Graduate Center of The City University of New York. "The Schenker Project offers an even-handed and meticulously researched account of the life's work of the twentieth century's greatest theorist of tonal music, set squarely for the first time in the culture of the fin-de-siècle Vienna. This is intellectual history at its best. Persuasive in both its large-scale narrative sweep and in its wealth of provocative insights along the way, this book's impact on Schenkerian studies will be felt for years to come."- Patrick McCreless, Professor of Music Theory, Yale University "Cook adds to our understanding of music theory and fin de siècle Viennese politics and culture." --Musica Judaica Online Reviews

Nicholas Cook is Professor of Music at Cambridge University. He was Professorial Research Fellow in Music at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he directs the AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music (CHARM). He is the author of articles and books on a wide variety of musicological and theoretical subjects (his Music: A Very Short Introduction has been translated into ten languages). He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 2001.