A Critical History of New Music in China

Download or read book A Critical History of New Music in China written by Jingzhi Liu and published by Chinese University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 962 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the end of the nineteenth century, Chinese culture had fallen into a stasis, and intellectuals began to go abroad for new ideas. What emerged was an exciting musical genre that C. C. Liu terms "new music." With no direct ties to traditional Chinese music, "new music" reflects the compositional techniques and musical idioms of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European styles. Liu traces the genesis and development of "new music" throughout the twentieth century, deftly examining the social and political forces that shaped "new music" and its uses by political activists and the government.