Ett tonalt välordnat samhälle eller anarki? : estetiska och sociala aspekter på svensk konstmusik 1945-1960
Arvidson, Mats LU
(2007)
- Abstract
- The period between 1945 and 1960 is in many ways interesting. It is a period in Sweden, which is characterized by modernity. It is also an interesting period in Swedish musical life concerning art music. Modern music (i.e., atonal and twelve-tone music) has always faced a resistance, which has come from the public, the academics, social prejudices, or the critics. During the 1940s and 50s, modern music is an object for debates and discussions of different kinds. The subject matter varies from the music’s societal purpose, the composers’ moral responsibility and the critics’ inability to judge modern music, to the music’s dehumanization. It is, however, not only modern music that meets with resistance; music of a more traditional kind... (More)
- The period between 1945 and 1960 is in many ways interesting. It is a period in Sweden, which is characterized by modernity. It is also an interesting period in Swedish musical life concerning art music. Modern music (i.e., atonal and twelve-tone music) has always faced a resistance, which has come from the public, the academics, social prejudices, or the critics. During the 1940s and 50s, modern music is an object for debates and discussions of different kinds. The subject matter varies from the music’s societal purpose, the composers’ moral responsibility and the critics’ inability to judge modern music, to the music’s dehumanization. It is, however, not only modern music that meets with resistance; music of a more traditional kind (i.e., tonal music) is also an object of debates, discussions, and resistance. This thesis is a study of the intellectual history of Swedish art music which focuses on discourses and debates. The study concerns aesthetic and social trends, which exist in a coherent discourse. The intellectual historical perspective means that I am searching for the specific places of ideas in history. The ideas, which emerge in the debates, are thereby put in relation to more general current trends that deal with modernity. The purpose of the study is thus to describe and analyse some of the central ideas which certain actors expressed (composers and critics), and thereby give insight in, and knowledge of, an important period (1945–1960) in Swedish musical life. The central theme of this study is art music as a part of the concept of modernity. The zeitgeist of the period 1945–1960 is characterized in terms of an enlightenment thought, where arts, sciences, and politics are intertwined. Depending on what kind of social function music is considered to have, it seems that the most progressive music, i.e., radical music, is not consistent with the concept of modernity: radical music does not encourage solidarity, but fragmentation. Rather, it is traditional tonal music, which is politically progressive. Therefore modernity and modernism do not go hand in hand. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1236295
- author
- Arvidson, Mats
LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Ph.D. Berglund, Lars, Institutionen för musikvetenskap, Uppsala universitet
- publishing date
- 2007
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Sven-Eric Johanson, Yngve Flyckt, Hans Eklund, Jan Carlstedt, Sven-Erik Bäck, Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Ingmar Bengtsson, Klas-Thure (Claude Loyolla) Allgén, Chamber Music Association Samtida Musik, Chamber Music Association Fylkingen, Monday Group, Discourse, Historiography, Intellectual History, Swedish Art Music, Swedish Music History, Maurice Karkoff, Hans Leygraf, Ingvar Lidholm, Bo Linde, Quentin Skinner, Alf Thoor, Bo Wallner.
- pages
- 242 pages
- publisher
- Institutionen för kultur, estetik och medier
- defense location
- Vasa B, Vera Sandbergs Allé 8, Göteborg
- defense date
- 2007-12-01 13:00:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-85974-04-7
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- a3c42f72-070c-4ed0-910a-f0832762057e (old id 1236295)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:40:42
- date last changed
- 2020-05-19 16:50:14
@phdthesis{a3c42f72-070c-4ed0-910a-f0832762057e,
abstract = {{The period between 1945 and 1960 is in many ways interesting. It is a period in Sweden, which is characterized by modernity. It is also an interesting period in Swedish musical life concerning art music. Modern music (i.e., atonal and twelve-tone music) has always faced a resistance, which has come from the public, the academics, social prejudices, or the critics. During the 1940s and 50s, modern music is an object for debates and discussions of different kinds. The subject matter varies from the music’s societal purpose, the composers’ moral responsibility and the critics’ inability to judge modern music, to the music’s dehumanization. It is, however, not only modern music that meets with resistance; music of a more traditional kind (i.e., tonal music) is also an object of debates, discussions, and resistance. This thesis is a study of the intellectual history of Swedish art music which focuses on discourses and debates. The study concerns aesthetic and social trends, which exist in a coherent discourse. The intellectual historical perspective means that I am searching for the specific places of ideas in history. The ideas, which emerge in the debates, are thereby put in relation to more general current trends that deal with modernity. The purpose of the study is thus to describe and analyse some of the central ideas which certain actors expressed (composers and critics), and thereby give insight in, and knowledge of, an important period (1945–1960) in Swedish musical life. The central theme of this study is art music as a part of the concept of modernity. The zeitgeist of the period 1945–1960 is characterized in terms of an enlightenment thought, where arts, sciences, and politics are intertwined. Depending on what kind of social function music is considered to have, it seems that the most progressive music, i.e., radical music, is not consistent with the concept of modernity: radical music does not encourage solidarity, but fragmentation. Rather, it is traditional tonal music, which is politically progressive. Therefore modernity and modernism do not go hand in hand.}},
author = {{Arvidson, Mats}},
isbn = {{978-91-85974-04-7}},
keywords = {{Sven-Eric Johanson; Yngve Flyckt; Hans Eklund; Jan Carlstedt; Sven-Erik Bäck; Karl-Birger Blomdahl; Ingmar Bengtsson; Klas-Thure (Claude Loyolla) Allgén; Chamber Music Association Samtida Musik; Chamber Music Association Fylkingen; Monday Group; Discourse; Historiography; Intellectual History; Swedish Art Music; Swedish Music History; Maurice Karkoff; Hans Leygraf; Ingvar Lidholm; Bo Linde; Quentin Skinner; Alf Thoor; Bo Wallner.}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Institutionen för kultur, estetik och medier}},
title = {{Ett tonalt välordnat samhälle eller anarki? : estetiska och sociala aspekter på svensk konstmusik 1945-1960}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4747227/1457974.pdf}},
year = {{2007}},
}