Premium
Mozart Among the Theologians[Note 1. I encountered Jaroslav Pelikan's Bach Among the Theologians (Philadelphia, ...]
Author(s) -
Gouwens David J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
modern theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.144
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1468-0025
pISSN - 0266-7177
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0025.00141
Subject(s) - mozart , faith , philosophy , aestheticism , transcendence (philosophy) , literature , gospel , theology , art
The essay compares and contrasts the philosophical, theological, and aesthetic approaches to Mozart in the writings of Søren Kierkegaard's aesthete A ( Either/Or , I), Karl Barth (primarily Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ), and Hans Küng ( Mozart: Traces of Transcendence ). Whereas Kierkegaard's A outlines a non‐religious ‘daemonic Mozart’, Barth and Küng depict two contrasting theological understandings of Mozart's music. Barth's Mozart reflects a Reformed aesthetic, with Mozart as a ‘parable’ of gospel, whereas Küng's Mozart reflects a Roman Catholic ‘sacramental’ vision of music and religious faith. The essay explores how these different visions of Mozart are shaped by both their theological and aesthetic commitments.