Nietzsche's thoughts on music

Author's name: Pierre Lasserre

Nietzsche's early thoughts on music are linked to the metaphysical and aesthetic concept of the universe. He revealed this concept in his first book, *The Birth of Tragedy*, where the most unique and powerful personality of the thinker and artist shines through in every line of the book. Music has always occupied a central place in Nietzsche's thought. Early in his writing career, he viewed musical inspiration and emotion as a communication of metaphysical reality. He attributed to music a key and pioneering role in the development of the human spirit. He expected its influence to renew modern civilization, as he believed, in its intellectual and moral elements. We can say that, at that moment, music shaped all of his thoughts. He wrote: "For those who are born, so to speak, from the depths of music and whose business with things consists almost entirely of unconscious musical relationships."