ISBN: HB: 9780300254402

Yale University Press

June 2022

320 pp.

23,5x15,6 cm

30 black&white illus.

HB:
£18.99
QTY:

Categories:

Northern Silence

Journeys in Nordic Music and Culture

An essential exploration of Nordic composers and musicians, and the distinctive culture that continues to shape them.

Once considered a musical backwater, the Nordic region is now a musical powerhouse. Conductors from Denmark and Finland dominate the British and American orchestral scene. Interest in the old masters Sibelius and Grieg is soaring and progressive pop artists like Bjork continue to fascinate as much as they entertain.

Andrew Mellor journeys to the heart of the Nordic cultural psyche. From Reykjavik to Rovaniemi, he examines the success of Nordic music's performers, the attitude of its audiences, and the sound of its composers past and present – celebrating some of the most remarkable music ever written along the way. Mellor peers into the dark side of the Scandinavian utopia, from xenophobia and alcoholism to parochialism and the twilight of the social democratic dream. Drawing on a range of genres and firsthand encounters, he reveals that our fascination with Nordic societies and our love for Nordic music might be more intertwined than first thought.

About the author

Andrew Mellor is a journalist and critic. He has written about music, architecture, design, and cultural politics for publications around the world and is a critic for Gramophone and the Financial Times. He lives in Copenhagen.