Review of Ann Bull's 'class, control, & classical music'

Johnson-Williams, Erin (2020) Review of Ann Bull's 'class, control, & classical music'. NABMSA Reviews, 7 (1), 7-9.

Record type: Review

Abstract

The 2019 publication of Anna Bull’s Class, Control & Classical Music feels
prescient in light of the climate of social protest that has emerged in 2020.
As music departments across the globe are recognizing the importance
of decolonizing the canon and the curriculum, and as institutions of higher
education are under increased pressure to pay attention to Black Lives
Matter, it is significant to see the publication of a book that categorically
illustrates the history of classical music in Britain as one that is inherently
bound up within ideologies of gendered and imperial whiteness. As such,
this important book may function as an account of “how we got here”—
and, by extension, will help to pave the way for more productive
dialogues, which, of course, are only possible if we reconcile with the
aesthetic justifications for our imperialist pasts.

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