Quotation and Cultural Meaning in Twentieth-Century Music

Examines the way the use of quotation in music both creates and transforms cultural associations.

David Metzer (Author)

9780521825092, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 April 2003

240 pages, 3 b/w illus. 14 music examples
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.6 cm, 0.515 kg

'… rich and fascinating cultural and aesthetic interpretations …' Journal of the Royal Musical Association

Throughout the twentieth century, musicians frequently incorporated bits of works by other musicians into their own compositions and performances. When a musician borrows from a piece, he or she draws upon not only a melody but also the cultural associations of the original piece. By working with and altering a melody, a musician also transforms those associations. This book explores that vibrant practice, examining how musicians used quotation to participate in the cultural dialogues sustained around such areas as race, childhood, madness and the mass media. The focus of this study is broad, discussing pieces in a spectrum of musical styles (classical, experimental, jazz, and popular) as well as works in the other arts. Part of the young and quickly growing field of musical borrowing, this book takes an important step in discussing the wider cultural ramifications of quotation.

List of plates
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Childhood and nostalgia in the works of Charles Ives
2. Black and white: quotations in Duke Ellington's 'Black and Tan Fantasy'
Interlude: chronological scenes
3. Madness
4. The promise of the past: Rochberg, Berio and Stockhausen
5. Sampling and thievery
6. Covered up: borrowing in Sandra Bernhard's Without You I'm Nothing
Conclusion
Appendices
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Music [AV]