With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, a third of the world's population came to live under communist regimes. Over the next forty years, the lives of most people in the non-communist world were also shaped in some way by communism and the Cold War waged against it. In the cases of many artists, intellectuals and workers, this involvement was wished and active. Yet, while the left-leaning tendencies of western artists have long been recognised, the extent and depth of musicians' involvement in communism specifically has been largely ignored, suppressed, or dismissed as youthful infatuation.
The present volume offers, for the first time, a representative overview of the relationship of music and communism outside the communist bloc. Ranging across multiple musical genres, five continents, and seven decades, the nineteen chapters address both prominent musicians who aligned themselves with communism, and the investments in music of a range of communist and radical Marxist organisations (including national Communist Parties, the Black Panther Party, and Maoist and Trotskyist groups in Britain, Germany and Nepal). In the book's first section, five musicians (Giacomo Manzoni, Ernie Lieberman, Konrad Boehmer, Chris Cutler and Georgina Born) offer their own, more personal perspectives upon their engagement with communism. The volume as a whole highlights two 'red strains' in particular: the irreducible differences of opinion between communists regarding key debates concerning music's role in society; and the multiple challenges faced by every engaged musician in reconciling political and artistic agendas.
| ISBN: | 9780197265390 |
| Publication date: | 25th April 2013 |
| Author: | British Academy |
| Publisher: | The British Academy an imprint of Liverpool University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 320 pages |
| Series: | Proceedings of the British Academy |
| Genres: |
Theory of music and musicology Far-left political ideologies and movements |
With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, a third of the world's population came to live under communist regimes. Over the next forty years, the lives of most people in the non-communist world were also shaped in some way by communism and the Cold War waged against it. In the cases of many artists, intellectuals and workers, this involvement was wished and active. Yet, while the left-leaning tendencies of western artists have long been recognised, the extent and depth of musicians' involvement in communism specifically has been largely ignored, suppressed, or dismissed as youthful infatuation.
The present volume offers, for the first time, a representative overview of the relationship of music and communism outside the communist bloc. Ranging across multiple musical genres, five continents, and seven decades, the nineteen chapters address both prominent musicians who aligned themselves with communism, and the investments in music of a range of communist and radical Marxist organisations (including national Communist Parties, the Black Panther Party, and Maoist and Trotskyist groups in Britain, Germany and Nepal). In the book's first section, five musicians (Giacomo Manzoni, Ernie Lieberman, Konrad Boehmer, Chris Cutler and Georgina Born) offer their own, more personal perspectives upon their engagement with communism. The volume as a whole highlights two 'red strains' in particular: the irreducible differences of opinion between communists regarding key debates concerning music's role in society; and the multiple challenges faced by every engaged musician in reconciling political and artistic agendas.
Red Strains features in the following genres: Theory of music and musicology, Far-left political ideologies and movements
Red Strains is available in Hardback
Red Strains was written by British Academy and published by The British Academy an imprint of Liverpool University Press
Red Strains has 320 pages
Yes it is part of Proceedings of the British Academy series
£63.00