When I was young and dreamed of glory
When I was young and dreamed of glory
You have no control
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?
~Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story ” from Hamilton
The story of music history is one that has been collected, formed, analyzed, and revised over many decades. You have been introduced to some composers you had probably never heard of before and may have encountered a few whose names were familiar to you, such as Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. The commonly-told story of western music history has been shaped largely by the social and historical conditions at the time of the composers’ lives and by the 19th- and 20th-century music scholars who preserved their works and told their stories. For these reasons, the story of western music history is not a balanced story, and it is not a diverse story. In this course, we have made a conscious attempt to bring in the voices of diverse others whenever possible, but “Classical music” as it is commonly understood is an upper-class, Western tradition, and so its historical whiteness is hardly surprising.
It is important that you understand why some composers and musical compositions have been preserved while others have not. While historical social conditions prevented women and persons of color from having the same opportunities as white males, there is another key factor to consider: preservation. Sound is fleeting and ephemeral. For sound to endure, it must be captured in some way. To preserve musical sound, early music scholars invented a musical language, a way of communicating music in written form. However, you had to be “in the know” in order to both read and interpret this musical language, a skill that not everyone possessed. Even if you wrote down your music, there was no guarantee that it would be preserved. Written music may have only been preserved if a person or community believed that the one who composed it was worthy of remembering or if they found value in the music itself. And, of course, if you were part of a marginalized or oppressed community, you may not have had the option to learn how to write music or learn to play an instrument because you couldn’t afford to or were prohibited by society.
Another reason that so few women or BIPOC composers or musicians appear in music textbooks is because of the lack of available information about their music and their lives. As more scholars take an interest in uncovering their stories this is changing, but slowly.
This assignment asks you to consider this in light of our society today and draw on your knowledge about what classical music is and who typically performs, creates, and enjoys it.
Instruction:
First, read the article “Racial Diversity in Classical Music (Links to an external site.)” by Indian-Korean-American violinist Kevin Kumar.
Then, choose at least one of the following articles to read:
Black conductor Brandon Keith Brown shares some of his experiences in the 21st-century white classical world. https://level.medium.
*Note: if you have reached your free article limit for Medium.com, you can try opening the link in a “private” or “incognito” window to access the article, or access an alternative version here (Links to an external site.).
Chi-Chi Nwanoku talks about Chineke!, Europe’s first majority black and multi-ethnic orchestra. https://www.wqxr.
German-American employee of WQXR (New York’s classical radio station) Lukas Krohn-Grimberghe talks about why it is important to talk about race and racism in the context of classical music. https://www.wqxr.org/
Additional Optional Resources:
Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da. 2020. “A Flutist Steps Into the Solo Spotlight.” The New York Times, October 13, 2020, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/
Write an essay that responds to at least two of the prompts below. Please number your responses to make it easier for the instructor to read and grade. 250 minimum word count. Your responses must demonstrate that you have read and critically considered the articles to earn credit.
Share your thoughts on the idea of classical music as a universal language. What are some of the reasons that people may say this? Is there any truth to this idea? What are some of the potential problems with believing this?
What are your thoughts on Chineke!, a mostly-black orchestra? What are the benefits, and what are the potential challenges?
What stereotypes currently exist around classical music? Based on the articles and in your experience, do the stereotypes seem to be true? Why or why not?
What are some of the problems with the term “classical music” itself? Be sure to reference the articles you read in your response.
Based on what you read, what are your thoughts about why women and BIPOC musicians and composers have historically been excluded from music history textbooks and concert halls, and what can be done about this?
What is the role and relevance of so-called “classical music” in a diverse society today? Be sure to reference the articles you read in your response.
What can be gained from learning about the music of well-known white, male composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach?
Requirements: 250 words | .doc file
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