Traversing London's musical culture, this book boldly illuminates the emergence of Edwardian London as a beacon of musical innovation.

The dawning of a new century saw London emerge as a hub in a fast-developing global music industry, mirroring Britain's pivotal position between the continent, the Americas and the British Empire. It was a period of expansion, experiment and entrepreneurial energy. Rather than conservative and inward-looking, London was invigorated by new ideas, from pioneering musical comedy and revue to the modernist departures of Debussy and Stravinsky. Meanwhile, Elgar, Holst, Vaughan Williams, and a host of ambitious younger composers sought to reposition British music in a rapidly evolving soundscape.


Music was central to society at every level. Just as opulent theatres proliferated in the West End, concert life was revitalised by new symphony orchestras, by the Queen's Hall promenade concerts, and by Sunday concerts at the vast Albert Hall. Through innumerable band and gramophone concerts in the parks, music from Wagner to Irving Berlin became available as never before.


The book envisions a burgeoning urban culture through a series of snapshots - daily musical life in all its messy diversity. While tackling themes of cosmopolitanism and nationalism, high and low brows, centres and peripheries, it evokes contemporary voices and characterful individuals to illuminate the period. Challenging issues include the barriers faced by women and people of colour, and attitudes inhibiting the new generation of British composers - not to mention embedded imperialist ideologies reflecting London's precarious position at the centre of Empire.


Engagingly written, Simon McVeigh's groundbreaking book reveals the exhilarating transformation of music in Edwardian London, which laid the foundations for the century to come.

Contributor: Simon McVeigh SIMON McVEIGH is Emeritus Professor of Music, Goldsmiths, University of London and a Past President of the Royal Musical Association.

This book will please and satisfy both the student of social history, and/or music history, and will be equally as attractive to the general music lover. Music in Edwardian London examines how all kinds of music, from the music hall to grand opera and concerts, developed and became accessible to larger numbers of the London public. McVeigh has brought together information concerning various aspects of social history and music history in one place in a most helpful way. --- One of McVeigh's great strengths is his forensic examination of the infrastructure of Edwardian musical life in London and a delineation of the driving figures behind its scenes. --- Music in Edwardian London covers every kind of music imaginable including opera, folksong, and music hall. It is not a book that privileges elite over popular cultures (and here I am choosing words carefully); rather, the book provides a synthesis of their connections through the lenses of consumption, reception, and ideology. --- It is a captivating read, overflowing with fascinating snapshots of British musical culture a century ago. Scholars and students invested in Edwardian culture will surely enjoy this volume, and many of the chapters would prove useful readings for courses in British music or music and urban studies. --- Masterly... Structured and woven into it are so many wise insights and often new perspectives that it was certainly a book that had to be written. McVeigh's intellectual credentials for having done so are second to none.