Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Given L.A.'s prominence in the world of modern entertainment, it's surprising that an historical look at the history of music and musical institutions in Los Angeles has not been written before Kenneth Marcus's excellent new book. Much of Marcus's scholarship is fresh and revealing and the results offer a much needed re-evaluation of the too often underappreciated or overlooked cultural history of the City of Angels.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Musical Metropolis: Los Angeles and the Creation of a Music Culture, 1880-1940
This fascinating cultural history of music in Los Angeles focuses on orchestral performance from the late nineteenth century through World War II. Decentralization defined Los Angeles's growth since the late nineteenth century, and because the central city did not dominate the city's music culture as was the case in cities of the East and Midwest, a greater diversification of music emerged. Performers and audiences included Latinos, Euro-Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans, but the notion of diversity in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century city went well beyond ethnicity--it also included a "media diversity," as the city's musical output was presented through a variety of channels including recordings, radio, and film. These media strongly influenced the musical culture of Los Angeles, which in turn influenced the musical culture of America at large as the city grew into the nation's epicenter of entertainment. The book features a CD providing examples of much of the music examined. In addition, there are further support materials on the author's website: http://faculty.ulv.edu/~marcusk
0 comments:
Post a Comment