The Musical pasticcio A Plea for a Readymade Ontology for the Musical Work

Artistic entities – works of art, artistic performances, and their properties – do not fluctuate in the ‘hyperuranion’ world of metaphysical objects. They are here among us, participating in the cultural developments and historical vicissitudes of humanity as well as, as many examples could show, in the often tragic events of human history. As they take part in the cultural history of humanity, artworks’ value and meaning, as well as at least many of their ontological qualities, emerge from practices, relationships and cultural events that occur in the changing contexts of human life. This is the point of departure for the reflection on musical ontology that I am about to articulate in this article. The perspective from which I will address the topic is inspired by that artistic practice which is the thematic core of this book: the pasticcio.