Transnational Entanglements in the Music of the 1950s and 1960s

Abstract

Applying the model of “entangled histories” to music historiography, this article takes up discussions on the Cold War’s relevance to globalized art music of the 1950s and 60s. Technique and aesthetics in works by Henry Cowell, Toshirō Mayuzumi, and Luciano Berio from this period may be understood as resulting from entanglements between socio-political and artistic discourses, especially since these composers were closely associated with institutions and events of the Cold War. Idiosyncrasies in their works and aesthetics, however, cannot merely be explained by recourse to the institutionalized politics of the time. They testify to the composers’ increased awareness of global interconnectedness, addressing a (potentially) worldwide audience and reflecting the multipolarity of post-war modernity.