ABSTRACT
The contribution examines ways in which global music cultures are represented in musical museum spaces. Specifically, I look at how ideas are conveyed to the public (a practice often referred to as “interpretation”). Drawing on terms of reference within museum practice, the discussion traces trends and objectives for interpretation, tracing a line from early Euro-centric collecting and interpreting to current discourse and issues. Notions of authority have long played a role in the types of information made visible and audible to visitors. Notions of power and authority have also played fundamental roles in how that information is conveyed within museum walls. To better understand the current situation, I survey how previous generations understood and enacted authority in musical museum spaces, followed by ways that current practitioners grapple with changing ideas of authority. I look at ideas of power and storytelling, asking who has been deemed to “the authority” within museum interpretation, and if or how that concept is changing. Finally, I present ideas of what shifting and shared authority look like in practice, using viewpoints of museum practitioners who grapple with these concepts at this pivotal moment in museum practice.
