ABSTRACT
This chapter wrestles with the legacies of Europe (as a colonial power, as a center for knowledge production, etc.) but also highlights contemporary musical responses to that legacy. A series of case studies illustrate both longstanding traditions (and systems of musical value) and interventions or reactions by contemporary artists that help reshape our understanding of those very practices. For instance, one section juxtaposes a Haydn trumpet concerto (associated with order and “progress”) with a piece for 49 trumpets by Berlin-based Lebanese graphic artist and musical improviser, Mazen Kerbaj, that, through its sound world, offers political commentary on the ongoing destruction in the Middle East. A section on field recordings does similar work, as does a section concerned with the musical self. A final section on music and movement, including an exploration of electronic dance music in Berlin, completes a chapter invested in providing rich comparative materials for rethinking music and Europe in the contemporary moment.
