{"product_id":"musical-argonauts-of-central-asia-the-aga-khan-music-programmes-quest-to-revitalize-cultural-heritage-hardback-9780253074430","title":"Musical Argonauts of Central Asia; The Aga Khan Music Programme's Quest to Revitalize Cultural Heritage (Hardback) 9780253074430","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eMusical Argonauts of Central Asia\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Aga Khan Music Programme's Quest to Revitalize Cultural Heritage\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eTheodore Levin (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780253074430\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 6 January 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e314 pages, 72 color illus., 4 b\u0026amp;w tables\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 15.6 x 2.7 cm, 0.736 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This unique book spans personal memoir, ethnomusicology, development studies, and the cultural history of Central Asia. Levin's description of the Aga Khan Music Programme is as absorbing and moving as the musicking worlds that are the book's subject.\" - Shahzad Bashir, Dean, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, Aga Khan University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"With his brilliantly produced concerts and wonderful recordings, Ted Levin has long been my guide to the music of Central Asia. Levin's new book provides a fascinating account of how he and colleagues at the Aga Khan Foundation triggered a revival of the teaching, performing and appreciation of the region's traditional music. Filled with anecdote and vivid characters, including villainous ex-Soviet bureaucrats and heroic virtuosi, \u003ci\u003eMusical Argonauts of Central Asia\u003c\/i\u003e is an inspiring and illuminating read.\" - Joe Boyd, author of \u003ci\u003eAnd the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey through Global Music\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMusical Argonauts of Central Asia\u003c\/i\u003e is a truly unique and uniquely valuable contribution to ethnomusicology and development studies. It addresses deep theoretical dilemmas without pedantry; to the contrary, it carries the reader along with the momentum of a page-turner. The story is gripping, with many fascinating twists and turns, and it raises the most important issues in marvelously vivid ways.\" - Marc A. Perlman, author of \u003ci\u003eUnplayed Melodies: Javanese Gamelan and the Genesis of Music Theory\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMusical Argonauts of Central Asia\u003c\/i\u003e grapples with fundamental questions regarding the potential for music to contribute to the well-being of people, particularly in the context of cultural development projects.\" - Richard K. Wolf, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Voice in the Drum: Music, Language and Emotion in Islamicate South Asia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMusical Argonauts of Central Asia\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the Aga Khan Music Programme (AKMP) and its sustained efforts to revitalize Central Asian musical heritage in the wake of seven decades of Soviet rule.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTheodore Levin, who worked with the program since its inception, offers an insider's account of how the AKMP's development tactics and strategies were formulated and their outcomes assessed. In doing so, Levin addresses fundamental questions about the power of music and what NGOs can do to help shape music's social impact: In what sense are music, musicians, and musical life amenable to interventions by a development organization? What do such interventions contribute to the quality of life of their beneficiaries? And what does an ethical development intervention in music look like? In chronicling the work of the AKMP, Levin establishes the bona fides of a type of institutional cultural activism that isn't captured by rubrics such as applied ethnomusicology, public folklore, and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeaturing case studies of country-specific interventions in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, \u003ci\u003eMusical Argonauts of Central Asia \u003c\/i\u003eprovides a practical roadmap for aspiring activist ethnomusicologists and folklorists that models best practices, analyzes failures, and advocates for the role that ethnographers can and should play in international development organizations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccessing Audiovisual Materials\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNote on Transliteration\u003cbr\u003eList of Acronyms\u003cbr\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003ePrologue: The Conundrum of Cultural Heritage\u003cbr\u003e1. The Prince and the Ethnomusicologist\u003cbr\u003e2. Revitalizing Central Asian Music\u003cbr\u003e3. The Little NGO that Could: Centre Ustatshakirt and the Future of the Past in Kyrgyzstan\u003cbr\u003e4. Putting Central Asian Music on the World Stage\u003cbr\u003e5. Measuring Music's Impact\u003cbr\u003e6. The Aga Khan Master Musicians (AKMM): Pluralists, Orientalists, Cultural Appropriators, or All of the Above?\u003cbr\u003e7. Inventing a Music Prize: The Aga Khan Music Awards\u003cbr\u003e8. Taking Stock: The Ethnography of Impact\u003cbr\u003eEpilogue\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eReferences\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Indiana University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52681264660760,"sku":"9780253074430","price":27.88,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/musical-argonauts-of-central-asia-the-aga-khan-music-programmes-quest-to-revitalize-cultural-heritage-hardback-9780253074430","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}