Dissonance reveals what harmony’s own concept conceals

Evidence

If one were to see the anti-harmonic gestures of Michelangelo, of the later Rembrandt, or of Beethoven’s final period, as deriving from the dynamics of the concept of harmony itselfand ultimately from its insufficiencyinstead of deriving from a subjectively passionate development, it would hardly be an inappropriate generalization of matters that diverge too widely in terms of the philosophy of history. Dissonance is the truth about harmony. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 681

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The aphorism ‘Dissonance is the truth about harmony’ reframes aesthetic and conceptual history as one dialectical structure worth long absorption.
• XREF: Recapitulates the Frankfurt School’s late-style theory across Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Beethoven.