Frontier Figures: American Music and the Mythology of the American West
Beth Levy
Abstract
This is an exploration of how the American West, both as physical space and inspiration, animated American music. Examining the work of such composers as Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, Charles Wakefield Cadman, and Arthur Farwell, it addresses questions of regionalism, race, and representation, as well as changing relationships to the natural world, to highlight the intersections between classical music and the diverse worlds of Indians, pioneers, and cowboys. The author draws from an array of genres to show how different brands of western Americana were absorbed into American cult ... More
This is an exploration of how the American West, both as physical space and inspiration, animated American music. Examining the work of such composers as Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, Charles Wakefield Cadman, and Arthur Farwell, it addresses questions of regionalism, race, and representation, as well as changing relationships to the natural world, to highlight the intersections between classical music and the diverse worlds of Indians, pioneers, and cowboys. The author draws from an array of genres to show how different brands of western Americana were absorbed into American culture by way of sheet music, radio, lecture recitals, the concert hall, and film. The book is a comprehensive illumination of what the West meant and still means to composers living and writing long after the close of the frontier.
Keywords:
American West,
American music,
regionalism,
race,
representation,
classical music,
Indians,
pioneers,
cowboys,
western Americana
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2012 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780520267763 |
Published to California Scholarship Online: September 2012 |
DOI:10.1525/california/9780520267763.001.0001 |