An Exagmination Round His Factification for In-Camination of Work in Progress (Review Essay and Reminiscence)

Extract

Seeger, Charles. Studies in Musicology: 1935–1975. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1977. vii, 357 pp.

Everything that Charles Seeger did could be characterized as “work in progress,” for he was never satisfied with leaving well enough alone. This collection of selected essays was in preparation for many, many years. I recall that in the 1940s I was prodding Charles to get on with it—and even offered my editorial assistance. But he was determined to go his own way, at his own pace. In a letter dated August 19, 1970, he wrote: “The editing of my Systematic Musicology: Selected Papers 1940 – 1970 (about 24 in all) proceeds at a snail's pace because I can't keep my mind off new stuff.”