Classical Music in America: A History

Synopsis

In this chronicle of the tensions and contradictions of a musical high culture, Joseph Horowitz argues that classical music in the United States is peculiarly performance-driven. He traces a musical trajectory peaking at the close of the nineteenth century and receding after the First World War. He defines the decades of ascendancy as the quest for an American compositional voice, painting vivid vignettes of America's most celebrated performers and groundbreaking institutions. He explores a century of decline characterised by illustrious orchestras, conductors and virtuosos, and he exposes a crisis of leadership and suggests new musical directions in the post-modern age. Horowitz fashions a sweeping narrative - packed with personality and incident, textured by literature, sociology and intellectual history - that freshly illuminates the American experience.