Abstract
Sámuel Brassai (1797-1897) was a Transylvanian polymath, whose first essays on aesthetics were published in 1832, in the weekly newspaper Nemzeti Társalkodó in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca). As an active chamber musician, music critic and encyclopaedic thinker, Brassai supported his aesthetical assumptions with the help of fine arts, music and literature. Although there are only few publications on aesthetics in his oeuvre, it is essential to know them, because they have certainly influenced his work as a music critic. Over a century later, István Angi (1933-2020), founder of the Cluj school of musical aesthetics, published the prototype theory of his grotesque-transcendent axis system in 1970 in the journal Utunk. As a professor at the Conservatory of Music in Cluj-Napoca, he presented his aesthetic system in a two-volume course entitled Prelegeri de estetică muzicală [Lectures on Musical Aesthetics], 2004, and is also the author of numerous volumes and articles in Romanian and Hungarian. The article presents the views of these two prominent and beloved scholars of the treasure-city, emphasizing their philosophical roots and directions of their ideas; their attitude towards beauty in aesthetics; their interpretations of the relationship between reality and ideal. In light of these considerations, I seek to answer whether Brassai’s assumptions, questions and concepts find continuity in the theory of István Angi’s system of aesthetics.

Keywords: Sámuel Brassai, István Angi, aesthetics, Cluj-Napoca.

About the author
Beáta Simény studied musicology at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, where she is currently a PhD student. Her upcoming doctoral dissertation focuses on the Hungarian scholar and music critic Sámuel Brassai (1800-1897), exploring his role and position in nineteenth century Hungarian music history and cultural life. The research is based on manuscripts, archival documents and publications of the time. At present the author works as assistant research fellow at the Department for Hungarian Music History of the Institute for Musicology in Budapest.

DOI: 10.47809/MP.2023.38.02.02

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