A CULTURAL HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC IN THE MODERN AGE
A Cultural History of Western Music in the Modern Age covers the period from 1920 to the present, an era which has seen unprecedented global conflict, transnational diplomacy, intercultural influence, ecological crisis, technological innovation, and collaborative experiments among artists. The extraordinary range of modern Western music – from the disciplinary systems of the Suzuki Method to the esoteric philosophies of Sun Ra, and from the rapid commercialization of audio recordings to the multi-genre soundtracks of Black Lives Matter – offers no single or clear-cut narrative. In order to examine the complex power, scope, and definition of modern music, this volume presents an array of research methods, case studies, and geopolitical snapshots which offer startling insights into the worldwide reach of Western music over the last century.
The 6 volume set of the Cultural History of Western Music presents the first comprehensive history from classical antiquity to today, covering all forms and aspects of music and its ever-changing social context. The themes covered in each volume are society; philosophies; politics; exchange; education; popular culture; performance; and technologies.
The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Western Music is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available as hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a tangible reference for their shelves or as part of a fully-searchable digital library. The digital product is available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access via www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com . Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available in print or digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com .
Edited by:
William Cheng,
Danielle Fosler-Lussier
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 242mm,
Width: 168mm,
Spine: 18mm
Weight: 680g
ISBN: 9781350075610
ISBN 10: 1350075612
Series: The Cultural Histories Series
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 22 January 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Edited by William Cheng and Danielle Fosler-Lussier Introduction: The Stories We Hope to Share, William Cheng 1. Society: Global Trajectories and the Universal-Particular Paradox, Hyun Kyong Hannah Chang 2. Philosophy: Theosophy and Esoteric Musical Modernism, Anna Gawboy 3. Politics: Music, Nation States, and the “Small World” in the Long Twentieth Century, Danielle Fosler-Lussier 4. Exchange: Modernist Approaches across Oceans and Borders, Marysol Quevedo 5. Education: Children’s Music and Visions of Citizenship, Anicia Timberlake 6. Popular Culture: Musical Performance as Cultural Activism, Ellie M. Hisama 7. Performance: The Changing Norm of Musical Practice in Everyday Life, Stephanie Jensen-Moulton 8. Technology: Media, Myths, and Movements, Penny Brandt and Rob Deemer
Danielle Fosler-Lussier is Professor of Music at The Ohio StateUniversity School of Music. She is author of Music Divided: Bartók’s Legacy in Cold War Culture (University of CaliforniaPress, 2007), and Music in America’s ColdWar Diplomacy (University of California Press, 2015). William Cheng is Assistant Professor of Music at Dartmouth College. He is author of Sound Play: Video Games and the Musical Imagination (OUP 2014), Just Vibrations: The Purpose of Sounding Good (University of Michigan Press, 2016). His forthcoming books include Why Listening to Beethoven Makes Me Feel So Respectable (and Other Vices of Musical Judgment) (OUP), Touching Pitch: Dirt, Debt, Color (University of Michigan Press) and, as co-editor, Queering the Field: Sounding Out Ethnomusicology (OUP).
