This chapter introduces the biography of Martin Heidegger and assesses his particular thoughts on musical philosophy. Heidegger was born in Messkirch on September 26, 1889. His collected works have been appearing with the publisher Klostermann, in Frankfurt, since 1975. Heidegger addressed the link between Dasein and being in a manner that is highly revealing precisely as it applies to the artwork essay, and to music in particular. He drew a strict line of demarcation between the astonishment and the admiration for (...) any kind of achievement. For him, the irreducibility of the arts did not mean that they were of equal rank. The reason Heidegger adduces for giving an exceptional place to lyric poetry is his view of the right concept of language. In light of the paucity of explicit textual references, the musicological reception of Heidegger was extremely modest. (shrink)