Music and Victorian Liberalism
Composing the Liberal Subject
Published on 10. May 2019
Book
Hardback
266 pages
978-1-108-48005-5 (ISBN)
Description
The discourse of Victorian liberalism has long been explored by scholars of literature, with reference to politics, ethics and aesthetics. Yet little attention has been paid to music's role in the context of these debates, leaving a rich collection of historical and archival detail on the periphery of our understanding. From the impact of the National Sunday League to the reception of Wagner in London, this collection of essays aims to nuance current approaches to the aesthetic facets of liberalism, examining the interaction between music and liberal ideas in a variety of social contexts. The significance of music for modern conceptions of self-hood and community is uncovered, revealing a new dimension of Victorian liberalism.
Reviews / Votes
'This book is a most welcome contribution to the renewed interest in liberalism and music culture. It reveals that Victorian liberal values were shaped by aesthetic debates in which the acts of performing and listening to music played an important role. The essays offer an absorbing illustration of the various tensions between music as recreation and music as a means of control, examining the role of human agency and the endeavour to experience life as an individual liberal subject.' Derek B. Scott, University of LeedsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 19 Printed music items; 11 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
650 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-48005-5 (9781108480055)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
08/2024
Cambridge University Press
€33.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
06/2019
Cambridge University Press
€73.99
Available for download
E-Book
05/2019
Cambridge University Press
€111.99
Available for download
Person
Sarah Collins is a Senior Lecturer in musicology at the University of Western Australia. In 2017, she was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University and a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow at Durham University. Collins is the author of Lateness and Modernism (Cambridge, forthcoming) and The Aesthetic Life of Cyril Scott (2013). Her work has appeared in journals including the Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Twentieth-Century Music, Music & Letters and Musical Quarterly.
Content
1. Aesthetic liberalism Sarah Collins; Part I. Cultivation and/as Control: 2. Musical discipline and Victorian liberal reform Erin Johnson-Williams; 3. 'Brightening the lives of the people on Sunday': the National Sunday League and liberal attitudes towards concert promotion in Victorian Britain Simon McVeigh; 4. Music and mass education: cultivation or control? Rosemary Golding; Part II. Dissent, Individualism and Agency: 5. A musical presence among liberal thinkers: Eliza Flower and her circle, 1832-1845 Kate Bowan; 6. 'That more liberal mode of life': Rosa Newmarch, aestheticism, and queer listening in Victorian and Edwardian Britain Phillip Ross Bullock; Part III. Character and Emotion: 7. Style, character and revelation in Parry's Fourth Symphony Matthew Riley; 8. The Parrys and Prometheus Unbound: actualizing liberalism Phyllis Weliver; 9. Liberalism and Victorian musical sympathy Bennett Zon; 10. Music and character in the Victorian reception of Wagner: conducting the Philharmonic ca. 1855 Katherine Fry; 11. Afterword: liberalism in the round Peter Mandler.