ABSTRACT
Sophie Haroutunian and Megan Laverty examine in this chapter Aristotle’s conception of eudaimonia as happiness and, as such, as an end in itself. Eudaimonia can be achieved through striving for and achieving excellence, from which people derive pleasure. The authors work with Jean-Luc Nancy’s conception of listening as striving to make meaning through what one hears, referring to detailed excerpts from piano lessons between a teacher and an advanced student. They analyze seven segments from the transcription of lesson dialogue identified as moments of listening, and explain how playing music well leads to a more bountiful repertoire of musical meanings, resulting in a greater capacity for happiness through making music. We gratefully acknowledge kind permission of the publisher, G. Henle Verlag, München, to reprint measures 1–58 of Franz Schubert’s Sechs (Six) Moments Musicaux, Op. 94 – D.780. 1948/1976.
