This article provides an interesting perspective with regard to the early twentieth-century attitude toward musical borrowings. Sternberg argues that musical borrowings are a legitimate compositional device employed by a number of great composers. The issue of emulation and competition is also addressed. Although Sternberg asserts that "stealing is stealing," musical borrowing is established as a long-standing compositional tradition, and Sternberg remains inconclusive as to whether or not this tradition should be defined as plagiaristic.

Works: Bizet: Carmen (391); Schumann: "The Happy Farmer," from Album for the Young (392); Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (392); Wagner: Lohengrin (392); Schubert: Atlas (393); Liszt: Les Préludes (393).

Index Classifications: General, 1800s

Contributed by: Lee Ann Roripaugh