Tonkunst

Tonkunst, (German: [ˈtoːnˌkʊnst] ⓘ; "Sound Art" or more literally "The Art of Tone"), is an obsolete term in the German language applied to art music of the 19th century, and often used in music history and musical aesthetic representations.[1] It is sometimes used as a translation for "music" in German,[2] but it holds different connotations[1] than the direct translation ("musik").[3] It likely originated from the need to give the music a place among the classical arts like architecture, sculpture, painting, prose, and poetry, and also recognize the composer or musician as a creative individual.[1]

Historical Usage

The term "Tonkunst" is seen in myriad contexts historically as an alternate for the word music with a significance of language to heighten the place of music in theory. It's used in relation to renowned musicians[4] and utilised with other discussions of music and musicology,[5] where it continues its current usage today in anthologies and branding.

Heinrich Christoph Koch in his article, "Concerning Fashionable Taste in the Art of Music," ("Über den Modegeschmach in der Tonkunst") utilises the term "Tonkunst" rather than "Musik," something the German Theorist also utilised in "Journal der Tonkunst." This difference is significant in the manner in which Koch places music in the category of other arts rather than the perceived placement as an ephemeral and less respected concept. Despite consumable fashions and trends, Koch perceives beauty as something everlasting rather than fleeting and finds worth in music from the past.[1]

In a similar vein, with "On the Spirit of Music" ("Ueber den Geist der Tonkunst"), Christian Friedrich Michaelis attempted to categorise music within the fine arts, following after the framework of Immanuel Kant in the Critique of Judgment.[6] Michaelis revised and republished, but it was worse received at this point given the critique of Kant's perspectives in music as a philosopher rather than a musician.[6] The term is often found across different historical texts in German talking about music.[7]

The term is found referring to performances by Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner, and in the inscriptions of the Walhalla memorial built in 1842,[8] where a good example is Joseph Haydn, titled as "Doctor der Tonkunst" ("Doctor of Sound-Art") or sometimes gained recognition as "Doctor of Music",[4] and Ludwig van Beethoven self-identified as a "Tondichter" ("Sound-poet").[9] Adolf Bernhard Marx in contrast utilised the term as a musicologist.[10] The concept of "absolute Tonkunst" ("absolute music")[11] received defence when compared to Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk by Eduard Hanslick[12] which illustrates its place in discussions of German art music.

Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst (Monuments of Music) is the name of a musical anthology from Germany, encompassing the Baroque and Classical periods.[5] Guido Adler, who was an editor of the journal, also utilised the term "Tonkunst" while talking about the science of music.[13]

Contemporary Usage

Today, the term is rarely used as it was, but lives on, for example, in the name of the Tonkünstler Orchestra. Other modern-day uses of the term "Tonkunst" include the company Atelier der Tonkunst, which creates audio tools;[14] the magazine for classical music and musicology Die Tonkunst;[15] and the music academy The Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt, Germany.[16] Grove Music Online defines it as a translation for "music" in German.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Weber, William, The Musician As Entrepreneur, 1700-1914: Managers, Charlatans, and Idealists, p. 87, Indiana University Press (2004), ISBN 0253344565
  2. ^ a b "Tonkunst", Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, 2001, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.28131, retrieved 2026-01-09
  3. ^ "German Translation of "MUSIC" | Collins English-German Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com. 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  4. ^ a b Somfai, László (1986). ""Learned Style" in Two Late String Quartet Movements of Haydn". Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 28 (1/4): 325–349. doi:10.2307/902431. ISSN 0039-3266.
  5. ^ a b Lerner, Edward R. (1970). "Historical Anthologies of Music — A Review and Critique". College Music Symposium. 10: 123–133. ISSN 0069-5696.
  6. ^ a b Strøm-Olsen, Rolf (2024). "Music, Poetry, and Modernity: Shaping a Musical Public in Early Nineteenth-century Germany". International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. 55 (2): 267–282. ISSN 0351-5796.
  7. ^ Sitsky, Larry (2023), "Die Brautwahl", The Compleat Busoni, Volume 2, Busoni's other music: A complete survey (1 ed.), ANU Press, pp. 67–112, ISBN 978-1-76046-595-7, retrieved 2026-01-09{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  8. ^ Karnes, Kevin, Music, Criticism, and the Challenge of History: Shaping Modern Musical Thought in Late Nineteenth-Century Vienna, p. 176, Oxford University Press (2008), ISBN 0195368665
  9. ^ "The Complete Beethoven: Day 305". www.completebeethoven.com. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  10. ^ "Volume Information". Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft. 10 (1): I–IV. 1908. ISSN 1612-0124.
  11. ^ Scruton, Roger (2001). Absolute music. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.00069.
  12. ^ Pederson, Sanna (2009). "Defining the Term 'Absolute Music' Historically". Music & Letters. 90 (2): 240–262. ISSN 0027-4224.
  13. ^ Mugglestone, Erica; Adler, Guido (1981). "Guido Adler's "The Scope, Method, and Aim of Musicology" (1885): An English Translation with an Historico-Analytical Commentary". Yearbook for Traditional Music. 13: 1–21. doi:10.2307/768355. ISSN 0740-1558.
  14. ^ "Welcome | Atelier der Tonkunst". www.atelier-der-tonkunst.de. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  15. ^ "Start : Die Tonkunst online". www.die-tonkunst.de. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  16. ^ "About us - Akademie fuer Tonkunst". Academy of Music. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
Attribution
  • This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the German Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the History section.


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