ABSTRACT
There are at least two reasons why a discussion of Adorno’s grappling with the prohibition of the image, the Bilderverbot, in the context of music is worthwhile. First, it is well suited to help complicate and enrich the very notion of the prohibition of the image, and touches directly on the question of what might (still) be specifically Jewish about it. The second reason, though one that will do little to convince those who consider Critical Theory a dead end anyway, is that Adorno’s grappling with music, far from being a mere side show, was absolutely central to the evolution of the entire project of Critical Theory.1 Indeed, music emerges from this project as the most likely site of subversion and hope (however slight).2
