A century of reflective writings on musical composition
DONIN Nicolas ed.

Since the nineteenth century, composers have publicly expressed their work through a plurality of writings (treatises, didactic books, prefaces to scores or program notes) and speeches (lectures, interviews, masterclasses). There are also more confidential texts, sometimes only in the intimate sphere, in which it is less a matter of demonstrating or convincing than of asking oneself: what have I done? What is my creative process? How did such a work, such idea, take on the face that is now his? What paths are available to me?

A century of reflective writing on musical composition highlights a selection of unpublished texts, rare or inaccessible in French, drawn from personal diaries, contributions to journals, interviews with journalists and scientists, or from academic works. The book thus makes visible a tradition that was formed during the twentieth century and appears more relevant than ever when many universities and colleges promote renewed forms of "research in art".