Download or read book The Imaginary Museum of Musical Works written by Lydia Goehr and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2007 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Lydia Goehr describes how the concept of a musical work fully crystallized around 1800, and subsequently defined the norms, expectations, and behavioral patterns that have come to characterize classical musical practice. The description is set in the context of a more general philosophical account of the rise and fall of concepts and ideals, and of their normative functions; at the same time, debates amongst conductors, early-music performers, and avant-gardists are addressed.