The transformation of the concept of absolute music and the evolution of its genre system
The transformation of the concept of absolute music and the evolution of its genre system

Summary/Abstract: This article proposes a systematization of the historical and conceptual development of “absolute music” as a supergenre, based on the critical analysis of key scholarly works by C. Dahlhaus, M. E. Bonds, S. Pederson, and others. It explores how the evolving idea of absolute music influenced the broader genre system of European art music across the 19th and 20th centuries. By the latter half of the 20th century, absolute music had undergone a significant transformation, assuming cosmic and ritualistic dimensions, and ultimately evolving into the genre of the mystery. This trajectory is exemplified by works such as Stockhausen’s Licht, the sacred minimalism of composers like Pärt and Tavener, and the spiritually charged compositions of Sofia Gubaidulina. This article argues that the implicit mysteriousness present in Romantic notions of absolute music logically culminates in the mystery as a genre, understood as the full realization of music’s internal semantic potential.

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