The Early Romantic Era: Between Revolutions, 1789 and 1848/The Late Romantic Era: From the Mid-19th Century to World War I

Alexander Ringer, ed. The Early Romantic Era: Between Revolutions, 1789 and 1848. Music and Society. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1991. x, 325 pp. ISBN 0-13-222399-6 (hardcover), ISBN 0-13-222332-5 (softcover). Referred to below as I.

1. Alexander L. Ringer, 'The Rise of Urban Musical Life between the Revolutions, 1789-1848"; 2. Ralph P. Locke, "Paris: Centre of Intellectual Ferment"; 3. Sigrid Wiesmann, "Vienna: Bastion of Conservatism"; 4. Christoph-Hellmut Mahling, "Berlin: 'Music in the Air"' 5. Sieghart Döhring" "Dresden and Leipzig: Two Bourgeois Centres"; 6. John Rosselli, 'Italy: The Centrality of Opera"; 7. Joel Sachs, "London: The Professionalization of Music"; 8. Gerald R. Seaman, "Moscow and St Petersburg"; 9. Kathryn Bumpass, 'The USA: A Quest for Improvement"; 10. Gerard Béhague, "Latin America: Independence and Nationalism."

Jim Samson, ed. The Late Romantic Era: From the Mid-19th Century to World War L Music and Society. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1991. x, 463 pp. ISBN 0-13-524174-X (hardcover), ISBN 0-13-524182-0 (softcover). Referred to below as IL

1. Jim Samson, "Music and Society"; 2. John Deathridge, "Germany: The 'Special Path'"; 3. Paul Banks, "Vienna: Absolutism and Nostalgia"; 4. James Harding, "Paris: Opera Reigns Supreme"; 5. John Rosselli, "Italy: The Decline of a Tradition"; 6. Lionel Salter, "Spain: A Nation in Turbulence"; 7. David Fanning, "Russia: East Meets West"; 8. Jim Samson, "East Central Europe: The Struggle for National Identity"; 9. John Bergsagel, "Scandinavia: Unity in Diversity"; 10. Donald Burrows, "Victorian England: An Age of Expansion"; 11. Charles Hamm, "The USA: Classical, Industrial and Invisible Music"; 12. Gerard Béhague, "Latin America: Reflections and Reactions"; 13. Arnold Whittall, "Germany: Cross-Currents and Contradictions"; 14. Paul Banks, "Fin-de-siècle Vienna: Politics and Modernism"; 15. Jann Pasler, 'Taris: Conflicting Notions of Progress."

At the outset I should note that these books represent major contributions to the burgeoning literature about musical history, institutions, and practices in relation to their social contexts. Thus it is particularly regrettable that, due to the space limitations of a summary review, the books cannot be reviewed in the detail that their rich and varied contents demand. Nevertheless, I shall make an attempt to produce a meaningful discussion of their overall character and contents, while pointing out details worthy of note.

Let us first examine the publications from the perspective of the stated...