Musical inclusion at the intersection of aesthetics and geography

• In Event: Inside/Outside. Music and Politics in Latin America

Abstract

Orchestras, chamber music series, and multi-genre presenters face the task of condensing, year after year, centuries of musical creation into one meaningful season. The selection of musical repertoire is a declaration of aesthetic principle and priorities, since there are never enough resources to perform all the music one would want to. For organizations dedicated to western literate music, the choice starts with the recognition that the repertoire is in great part a European construction. Latin American (and indeed, American in the broad sense) programmers, additionally, must acknowledge the fact that this music, along with the languages we speak west of the Atlantic, has taken deep roots in the land over the centuries since colonization began and are a big part of what each country considers its own cultural identity. Consequently, locally produced literate music, of ancient or new vintage, occupies a space within the programming of musical institutions throughout Latin America.
This paper explores the relative importance of this space in the context of the activities of some of the region´s organizations, as well as the mechanisms that control the inclusion into this consecratory world. Studies of recent seasons of two of Latin America’s leading concert presenters, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the OSESP in São Paulo, including interviews with those responsible for artistic decisions, will serve as a background for a general view of the field. The list of featured composers includes familiar names, but also a variety of and lesser known names and living artists. While the proportion of programs that feature local music remains fairly consistent across the region, there are provocative aesthetic and political issues to consider around the identities of the composers and the musical characteristics of the works selected for inclusion.

Author

• Sebastian Zubieta, Americas Society