When Is It Modernism? A Lesson from Indonesian Musik Kontemporer

Bibliographic Data

ID21728484
AuthorsChristopher J Miller (0000-0002-0632-1484, Cornell University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume20
Issue3
Pages292-322
Publication date2023-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
Venuetwentieth-century music (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-5722 • E-ISSN: 1478-5730
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1478572223000154
OpenAlexW4387503232
LanguageEN
References cited33

When is it modernism? This article poses this question to traditionally based Indonesian musik kontemporer , as an occasion to examine a distinctive instance of musical modernism, but most importantly to illuminate issues with the question itself. Taking it literally, I identify when musik kontemporer was most clearly modernist, recognizing that modernism, and its conception of history, itself has a history. Scrutinizing the question's more usual goal of drawing a distinction between that which is and is not modernist, I show how the case of Rahayu Supanggah – a musician with a deep and primary commitment to the traditional performing arts, whose work has been shaped by his adoption of modernist ways of thinking without being fully defined by them – defies a simple answer. Ultimately, the article is concerned with what is at stake when invoking modernism, and what this means for the larger project of understanding musical modernism as a global phenomenon

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Indonesian · Linguistics · Literature · Musical · Phenomenon · Sociology · The arts · Visual arts · Asian Studies and History · Music History and Culture · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Philosophy