Both respected musicologists, Ogasapian and Orr took up a daunting challenge because they had to run the gamut from art music (and its various supporting institutions) to various types of popular theater and popular music (and their venues) and at the same time show how this huge and diverse body of music both reflected and influenced society. Organized by genre, this compendium draws on a vast amount of information, taken from approximately 175 writings on American music. The authors stress basic social themes of the period: industrialization, acquisition of wealth, population growth, immigration, territorial expansion, communication, race, and religion. No single piece of music is discussed in any detail and even major composers are not treated in depth. The reader will come away from this book with an appreciation of both the quantity and diversity of music that kept pace with the growth of a nation from relative insularity to a world power. Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates; general readers. * Choice *
For general readers, Ogasapian and Orr provide a history of music during the Gilded Age in the US, organized by genre and including both classical and popular music, with chapters on orchestras and concert music, opera, church music, and popular songs, as well as information on important critics, composers, and conservatories, and amateurs and entrepreneurs. Music is described in terms of its basic elements and social, economic, political, technological, and religious influences. * Reference & Research Book News *
