Aestheticism
An approach to art and life based on the belief that art and beauty should be valued
"Aestheticism" emerged in the late 19th century as a cultural and artistic movement that celebrates beauty and artistic expression for its own sake. It rejects the notion that art should serve moral, social, or practical purposes.
In music, aestheticism places a strong emphasis on the beauty of sound and musical expression. Composers within this movement create music primarily to evoke aesthetic pleasure, valuing the emotional and sensory experience it provides. These compositions prioritize elegance and refinement in their structure, melody, and harmony, resulting in music characterized by its sophistication.
Aestheticist music explores a wide range of emotions through melody, harmony, and rhythm, aiming to evoke emotional responses through the inherent beauty of the music. Composers are encouraged to express their individual artistic visions without being constrained by societal norms.
Some aestheticist composers seek to create synesthetic experiences by connecting music with visual or emotional sensations. Overall, aestheticism celebrates music as an art form capable of providing unique and profound aesthetic experiences, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the sheer beauty of sound.
Example of Aestheticism
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer, the predominant musical figure during the transition between the Classical to Romantic eras. He occupies an unprecedented dominance in the history of Western music history, and has been widely regarded as the greatest, most influential and most popular musician who ever lived.
Beethoven's music inherited the artistic atmosphere of Haydn and Mozart, penetrated the desire for dignity, vented the anger tortured by fate, and demonstrated his determination to fight with fate.
Compared to other musicians, Beethoven is effectively to interact the philosophy of life with audience through music. Although he was not a romantic, he had become the object followed by other romantics.
As a musician, Beethoven suffered from ear diseases. However, he was unwilling to succumb to fate, vowing to take fate by the throat, and continue to complete his career. In the last ten years of his life, without hearing any sound, his compositions influenced the development of music for nearly two hundred years.
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