Musicology and critical theory: The case of Wagner, Adorno, and Horkheimer

Adorno's Mersuch fiber Wagner (1938/1952) is unquestionably a significant musicological work, yet the discipline has sought mostly to neutralize, even while registering, its impact. The essential and acknowledged influence of Max Horkheimer's study of bourgeois anthropological ideology upon Adorno's monograph is outlined in order to construct a context for its understanding and use within musicology. More broadly, the question is raised whether this collision of ideas originating with the 'Frankfurt School' offers a workable model for reading, into music, a coded reflection of sociological meaning. To conclude, a suggestion is put forward as to how the Persuch might be used as a basis for ongoing research: will history judge Wagner's achievement to be the source of so-called 'new music', or merely an extravagant symptom of the decline of the old?.