自1980年代起出現了所謂「新音樂學」的研究，藉由社會學、女性主義、文化研究、文學批評等等領域發展出的思想與研究成果，提出對音樂的不同詮釋，形成了新的研究風潮。一般以為他們與過去研究的不同，主要在於其跨領域的研究方法，或是在他們對「自律／他律」審美觀的不同立場。本文則指出，新音樂學與先前音樂分析詮釋的不同處，不僅僅是在研究方法上的差異，同時也是對音樂的觀點與價值觀的歧異。這種歧異可以由她們以及上一輩音樂學者各自為蕭邦的〈A小調前奏曲〉所提出的闡釋、分析方式中看出來。其中牽涉了不同的欣賞觀點，以及將相同的樂音過程認知為迥然不同的特質。本文除指出這些差異外，並將指出，「新」、「舊」音樂學除了在方法上，以及「自律／他律」、「統一性」等審美觀的不同立場外，在這首樂曲的詮釋中，特別可以看到他們對「目標導向」此一樂音特質的不同價值觀。

It is often assumed that studies of the so-called New Musicology, which started around 1980s, differ from older musical studies mainly in their cross-disciplinary methodologies, with import of those developed in literary criticism, cultural studies, feminist or gender studies, etc., or in their attitudes toward musical autonomy. This essay indicates that, in addition to the difference in methodology, new musicology differs from the “old” studies in terms of musical interpretation in their respective perspectives and values as well. Taking Chopin’s Prelude in A Minor as the primary focus, this study compares and analyzes the explanations and interpretations offered by some representative new musicologists with those by scholars of the older generations. As a result, the difference is found primarily in their respective attitudes toward goal-orientedness in the music.