Abstract

This chapter investigates the biography of Theodor W. Adorno and assesses his particular thoughts on musical philosophy. Adorno was born in Frankfurt am Main on September 11, 1903. While on vacation in Visp, Switzerland, he died of a heart attack on August 6, 1969. Aesthetic Theory, with Philosophy of New Music at its heart, subsumed the legacy of Adorno's entire philosophy; along with his Negative Dialectics and a planned work on moral philosophy that his early death prevented. Art and philosophy played a central role from his early years onward. In Philosophy of New Music, Adorno refined the theory of musical material. The discussion of Adorno's philosophy of music gradually died down, as interest increasingly turned to engagement with the posthumous Aesthetic Theory.