Overview

Before Antonín Dvorák's New World Symphony became one of the most universally beloved pieces of classical music, it exposed the deep wounds of racism at the dawn of the Jim Crow era while serving as a flashpoint in broader debates about the American ideals of freedom and equality. Drawing from a diverse array of historical voices, author Douglas W. Shadle's richly textured account of the symphony's 1893 premiere shows that even the classical concert hall could not remain insulated from the country's racial politics.

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9780190645625

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Reviews

Can you talk about the New World Symphony without talking about race, cultural appropriation, and the challenges of defining 'American' classical music? Douglas Shadle's book, equally valuable for newcomers and for those who think they already know all about Dvorak's most popular work, views the genesis and reception of the piece through a new, clear lens that brings into focus some of the challenging questions that it continues to raise and that remain, in this field, too little discussed. * Anne Midgette, former classical music critic of The Washington Post * A fascinating journey into the historical and racial context surrounding an extraordinary composer and musical work that not only provides a window into the intent behind the composition but also insight into its musical complexities and the resulting reflection of who we were... and who we are, as a nation. I found it an informative and engaging read while conveying a sense of the power and impact that a single composer or a single work of music can have on our society. * Aaron Dworkin, Professor of Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, University of Michigan *

A fascinating journey into the historical and racial context surrounding an extraordinary composer and musical work that not only provides a window into the intent behind the composition but also insight into its musical complexities and the resulting reflection of who we were... and who we are, as a nation. I found it an informative and engaging read while conveying a sense of the power and impact that a single composer or a single work of music can have on our society. -- Aaron Dworkin, Professor of Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, University of Michigan Can you talk about the New World Symphony without talking about race, cultural appropriation, and the challenges of defining 'American' classical music? Douglas Shadle's book, equally valuable for newcomers and for those who think they already know all about Dvorak's most popular work, views the genesis and reception of the piece through a new, clear lens that brings into focus some of the challenging questions that it continues to raise and that remain, in this field, too little discussed. -- Anne Midgette, former classical music critic of The Washington Post

Author Information

Douglas W. Shadle is Associate Professor of Musicology and Chair of the Department and Ethnomusicology at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. He is the author of the award-winning Orchestrating the Nation: The Nineteenth-Century American Symphonic Enterprise.

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