Lévi-Strauss, Schaeffer, Wagner: hudební struktura mýtu

The aim of the present paper is to analyse briefly the complicated references to musical composition in the work of Claude Levi-Strauss. In his monumental tetralogy entitled 'Mythologiques', Levi-Strauss considers the musical composition as a paradigm for structural analysis of myths. In this respect, the author compares Levi-Strauss' position with that of Pierre Schaeffer whose project of the 'concrete music' is strongly criticised by Levi-Strauss. In the second part of the text, Levi-Strauss' structural analysis of Wagner's operas are examined, as well as the criticism addressed to Levi-Strauss by Jean-Jacques Nattiez - universalist pretension and vagueness of the method based upon binary oppositions seems to represent weak points of Levi-Strauss' impressive effort to set new bases for human sciences.