Dahlhaus, Carl (1928–1989)

German musicologist. A prolific writer on music theory and history, his books and articles cover an enormous range of topics and periods; he is best known for his studies in 19th-century music and history. He was extremely influential in German-speaking musicology, and increasingly so in English-speaking circles from the early 1980s when his major works began to be translated. Dahlhaus believed that music cannot be divorced from the society and culture which produces it; therefore, an understanding of musical history can only flow from an understanding of history in a wider sense. He was influenced by the historical theories of Hegel and Marx, and by the philosophical approach to music taken by Theodor Adorno. His theoretical writings include Esthetics of Music (1967) and Foundations of Music History (1977); historical studies include Nineteenth-Century Music (1980), Ludwig van Beethoven (1987), and the articles collected as Schoenberg and the New Music (1987).