| Contents |
Preludes of reform: the Chicago Jubilee, Thomas "summer nights" concerts, and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition -- Battle for the baton: ceremonial parks and the landscape of musical reform, 1869-1904 -- I was improvising right from the start: musical progressivism at Hull House, 1889-1919 -- Come over here and listen to the music: municipal power and local authority in the field house parks, 1903-1919 -- Music of the people is music of the world: the Civic Music Association and the racial challenges of World War I and its aftermath, 1912-1919 -- They whirl off the edges of a decent life: unmasking difference at the dance, 1904-1933 -- Sounds of whiteness: urban musical subcultures, race, and the public interest on Chicago airwaves, 1921-1935 -- Sound Americans: echoes of reform from the 1930s to the present. |
| Abstract |
Between 1873 and 1935, reformers in Chicago used the power of music to unify the diverse peoples of the metropolis. These musical progressives emphasized the capacity of music to transcend differences among various groups. This book looks at the history of efforts to propagate this vision and the resulting encounters between activists and ethnic, immigrant, and working-class residents. Musical progressives sponsored free concerts and music lessons at neighborhood parks and settlement houses, organized music festivals and neighborhood dances, and used the radio waves as part of an unprecedented effort to advance civic engagement. European classical music, ragtime, jazz, and popular American song all figured into the musical progressives' mission. For residents with ideas about music as a tool of self-determination, musical progressivism could be problematic as well as empowering. The resulting struggles and negotiations between reformers and residents transformed the public culture of Chicago. Through his innovative examination of the role of music in the history of progressivism, the author offers a new perspective on the cultural politics of music and American society. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-390) and index. |
| LCCN | 2003006859 |
| ISBN | 0807828076 (cloth : alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 0807854816 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
