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Overview
Cited by Soundpost as "remarkable and revolutionary" upon its publication in 1977, Music, Society, Education has become a classic in the study of music as a social force. Christopher Small sets out to examine the social implications of Western classical music, effects that until recently have been largely ignored or dismissed by most musicologists. He strives to view the Western musical tradition "through the mirror of these other musics [Balinese and African] as it were from the outside, and in so doing to learn something of the inner unspoken nature of Western culture as a whole."As series co-editor Robert Walser writes, "By pointing to the complicity of Western culture with Western imperialism, Small challenges us to create a future that is more humane than the past. And by writing a book that enables us to rethink so fundamentally our involvements with music, he teaches us how we might get there."
Editorials
From the Publisher
"[A] visionary critique of classical music's industrial-capitalist apparatus . . . Deeply thoughtful and broadly informed." --Robert Christgau, Village Voice"This combative, infuriating and profoundly stimulating work is no ordinary book. Mr. Small has had the courage to ask some fundamental questions and answers them convincingly with brilliant effect. This is an important, stunningly original book certain to provoke debate for it is an unflattering mirror of our times."--Musical Opinion
"If your course needs a book that summarizes the main themes in Western classical music and interprets all the trends in pretentious 20th Century music as well, this is the one to use."--Ethnomusicology