The Musical Aesthetic of Robert Gerhard (1914–1938)

Starting from the premise that music reflects the society in which it is composed and performed, this chapter examines the shifts in Gerhard’s musical aesthetics regarding folk music, pure music, and absolute music during the period from 1914 to 1938. What this chapter proposes is that, despite focusing only on his life and works up to 1938, Gerhard’s long compositional career always demonstrates a sense of aesthetic coherence, a sign of his thoughtful evolution regarding musical language and the role of music in society. This chapter considers what may be considered the first half of Gerhard’s career from his time in Barcelona, between 1914, at which time he composed his first works, the Lied ‘Still Mitternacht ein losgelassner Wind’ and Sonatina a Carlos, to the beginning of his exile in 1938, when he chose not to return to Catalonia.