Vladimir Jankélévitch

Born in Bourges, France, in 1903, Vladimir Jankélévitch was a distinguished French philosopher and amateur musician whose writings include a number of profound and passionately researched books on modern French composers -- for example, Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré. As a philosopher, Jankélévitch strove to define the indefinable, to illuminate, as much as this is possible through language, borderline experiences and situations, such as, for example, the threshold of life and death. In both traditional philosophy and science, one could say, life is identified with being, and death with non-being. While accepting this dichotomy, Jankélévitch felt compelled to explore a mysterious "neither-nor" middle state, which he named "je-ne-sais-quoi" and "presque rien." As language is generally unable to illuminate these states, music, Jankélévitch asserted, is the medium which provides insights into undefinable experiences. Although not considered musicological in the traditional sense of the word, Jankélévitch's writings about music, especially his richly documented monographs on individual composers, enable the reader to, setting aside familiar technical and biographical information, plunge into the less obvious, even hidden, dimensions of music. For example, in his book on Fauré, Jankélévitch, unlike most Fauré scholars, reveals cosmic, universal, transcendental, and metaphysical dimensions in the music of this composer, whose music is often defined as quintessentially French -- in other words, a closed book to people lacking a profound understanding of French culture. Educated at the École Normale Supérieure, Jankélévitch taught philosophy at several French universities before becoming professor at the University of Paris, in 1952. Remaining at the university until his retirement, in 1978, Jankélévitch played a significant role in Parisian cultural life, speaking out against evil, social injustice, intellectual snobbery, and political obscurantism. He remained passionately devoted to music until the end of his life. Jankélévitch died in 1985. His books include Henri Bergson (1931), Ironie ou la bonne conscience (1936), Ravel (1939), Le Nocturne (1942), Le Je-ne-sais-quoi et le Presque-rien (1957), La Musique et l'ineffable (1961), La Mort (1966), L'Irréversible et la nostalgie (1974), Fauré et l'inexprimable, and Debussy et le mystère de l'instant (1976).
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