Picking up on my American Scholar piece, Tom Huizenga of National Public Radio interviewed me about the fate of black classical music – and here is his interview. Our conversation was wide-reaching, and ultimately led to this exchange: Huizenga: Near the end of your essay, you write: "Might American classical music have canonized, in parallel with jazz, an 'American … [Read more...] about Why Did American Classical Music “Stay White” — Take Two
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Why Did American Classical Music “Stay White”?
In 1893 Antonin Dvorak, teaching in New York City, predicted that a “great and noble school” of American classical music would arise from America’s “Negro melodies.” Dvorak’s prophecy was instantly controversial and influential. But the black musical motherlode migrated to popular genres known throughout the world. American classical music stayed white. The reasons are both … [Read more...] about Why Did American Classical Music “Stay White”?