edited by Roberto Illiano, Turnhout, Brepols, 2026 (Music, Criticism & Politics, 14).
In recent decades, the relationship between music and criticism has been a key topic of debate in international musicology.
Building on this research, this volume explores the complex discourse on race in 20th-century music criticism.
During this period, racism manifested itself in two primary forms: colonial-imperialist and anti-Semitic. However, it also impacted individuals who experienced racial repression beyond these two categories. Examples include the internment of Roma during the Second World War, anti-Slavic propaganda campaigns, and the repression of homosexuals.
With a particular focus on the relationship between music and politics, this book examines racial discourse in the press of the time, militant musicology and the views of composers, as well as exploring the subject through the lens of theatre critics, travel writers, scientists and orientalists.
Fifteen chapters explore this topic in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. An afterword by James Garratt discusses the issues raised and explores some of the problematic concepts and approaches in the field of racial discourse and theory.
Roberto Illiano is General Secretary of the Centro Studi Opera omnia Luigi Boccherini and President of the Italian National Edition of Muzio Clementi’s Complete Works. He is General Editor of the series ‘Speculum Musicae’ and ‘Staging and Dramaturgy: Opera and the Performing Arts’ (Brepols Publishers), and has published a variety of writing (edited volumes, articles, editions, and dictionaries entries) on 19th- and 20th-century music, in particular on Luigi Dallapiccola and Italian music under Italian fascism.
