A Rhetorical Analysis: Surprised By Beauty

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Rachana Kim Heather Stewart 24/SP ENGL-1301-7PA2 20 April 2024 A Rhetorical Analysis of Daniel Asia's Review of Surprised by Beauty For classical music enthusiasts and aficionados, a certain perception exists that the 20th and 21st centuries produced a staggering amount of challenging and unappealing musical compositions. Despite this, Daniel Asia, professor of composition and director of the American Culture and Ideas Initiative at the University of Arizona, aims to shatter this judgment in his review of Surprised by Beauty: A Listener's Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music, written by Robert R. Reilly alongside Jens F. Laurson. Asia’s main argument in this review is that a generous wealth of beautifully composed and accessible music exists within these previous two …show more content…

Lamenting the current state of classical music, Asia is familiar with the mainstream trends and their shortcomings. Furthermore, he mentions being a “professor of composition,” subtly hinting at his academic expertise in the field (Asia 2016). He also mentions being a "distinguished composer," which also adds to his credibility. Asia portrays an image of trustworthiness, positioning himself as someone who not only understands the theory of music but also possesses the knowledge to navigate the complexity of music itself. This allows him to speak with confidence about the hidden and underrated beauty within 20th and 21st-century compositions in his review. Asia strengthens his argument for the hidden beauty in modern music by using logos in his review. He utilizes forms of statistics to paint a bleak, and frankly negative, picture of the current state of classical music, citing dwindling audiences and how “classical music represent[s] a minuscule component of market share” (Asia

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