Description
Book SynopsisExplores how political pressures affected musical life on both sides of the iron curtain during the early years of the cold war. This study illuminates the pervasive political anxieties of the day through attention to artistic, music-theoretical, and propagandistic responses to the music of Hungary's renowned 20th-century composer, Bela Bartok.
Trade Review"A nuanced analysis ... Demonstrates with great clarity relationships between aesthetic questions and broader political and social issues." European History Qtly
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Note on Hungarian Pronunciation 1. Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra and the Demise of Hungary's "Third Road" 2. A Compromised Composer: Bartok's Music and Western Europe's Fresh Start 3. "Bartok Is Ours": The Voice of America and Hungarian Control over Bartok's Legacy 4. Bartok and His Publics: Defining the "Modern Classic" 5. Beyond the Folk Song; or, What Was Hungarian Socialist Realist Music? 6. The "Bartok Question" and the Politics of Dissent: The Case of Andras Mihaly Epilogue East: Bartok's Difficult Truths and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Epilogue West: Bartok's Legacy and George Rochberg's Postmodernity Appendix 1: Compositions by Bartok Broadcast on Hungarian Radio, 18 September to 1 October 1950 Appendix 2: Biographical Notes Notes Selected Bibliography Index
