Music and Politics in Recent Monographs: From Soviet Classical Music and the Polish Soundscapes to the Contemporary Underworld Song

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

This roundtable examines the intricate relationship between music, politics, and societal transformation in Poland, Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Russia, focusing on four recently published manuscripts. Andrea F. Bohlman’s Musical Solidarities (Oxford University Press, 2020) focuses on the sonic practices that fueled Solidarity, offering a nuanced perspective on the intersection of music and political dissent in 1980s Poland. In Awangarda (UC Press, 2020), Lisa Cooper Vest explores a unique manifestation of national cultural traditions employed by the Polish postwar musical avant-garde— a phenomenon that unveils new perspectives for comprehending nations and nationalism in the second half of the twentieth century. Anastasia Gordienko’s Outlaw Music in Russia (The UW Press, 2023), the first comprehensive history of the Russian shanson (underworld song), traces this genre’s evolution from early criminal folk songs to its current status as a mainstream genre, celebrated even at the Kremlin. And Joan Titus in her forthcoming book Dmitry Shostakovich and Music for Stalinist Cinema (Oxford University Press, 2024), maps out Shostakovich’s negotiation of the Soviet film industry and his maturity as a film composer by the end of Stalinism. Drawing from musicology, ethnomusicology, history, cultural studies, and sound studies, this roundtable investigates the multifaceted roles of music in shaping political action, dissent (but also compliance), and cultural and national identities.

Sub Unit

• Arts II: Music, Theater, Performance Studies

Chair

• Andrea F. Bohlman, UNC at Chapel Hill

Roundtable Members

• Lisa Cooper Vest, U of Southern California

• Andrea F. Bohlman, UNC at Chapel Hill

• Anastasia Gordienko, U of Arizona

• Joan Titus, UNC at Greensboro