Monographs on composers as a musicological genre

Abstract

Monographs on composer may considerably diverge from one another, depending on their authors' fundamental views concerning the way and extent to which biographical data should be used in relation to music analysis. So as not to lapse into mere music Biographik, a monograph should encompass the life and works of its subject in a complementary way-with all the necessary contextualization - and bring them into a meaningful relationship in a well thought-out and critical manner. That ideal goal should be pursued, although usually the result is a more or less successful hybrid of a biography and music analysis.