Planet Beethoven: Classical Music at the Turn of the Millennium

239 Pages·2014·7.69 MB·English

by  Mina Yang

Planet Beethoven

Mina Yang
h
Planet Beethoven
ClassiCal MusiC at the
turn of the MillenniuM
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wesleyan university press
Middletown, Connecticut
Wesleyan University Press
Middletown CT 06459
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
© 2014 Mina Yang
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeset in Galliard by Integrated Publishing Solutions
Wesleyan University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative.
The paper used in this book meets their minimum
requirement for recycled paper.
Chapter 1 first published as “ ‘Für Elise’ Circa 2000: Postmodern Readings of
Beethoven in Popular Contexts,” Popular Music and Society 29, no. 1 (2006): 1–15;
www.tandfonline.com. Chapter 3 first published as “East Meets West in the Concert
Hall: Asians and Classical Music in the Century of Imperialism, Post-Colonialism,
and Multiculturalism,” Asian Music 38, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 2007): 1–30. Copyright
©2007 by the University of Texas Press. Chapter 5 first published as “Moulin Rouge!
and the Undoing of Opera,” Cambridge Opera Journal 20, no. 3 (2008): 269–82;
www.tandfonline.com. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yang, Mina.
Planet Beethoven : classical music at the turn of the millennium / Mina Yang.
pages cm.—(Music culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8195-7485-5 (cloth : alk. paper)—isbn 978-0-8195-7486-2
(pbk. : alk. paper)—isbn 978-0-8195-7487-9 (ebook)
1. Music—21st century—History and criticism. 2. Music—20th
century—History and criticism. 3. Musical canon. 4. Musicians—
Biography—History and criticism. I. Title.
ml197.2.y36 2014
781.6809'051—dc23
2014004705
5 4 3 2 1
Cover illustration by David Navas.
To Nishith, Dez, and Zalea,
for making it all fun.

Contents
h
Prelude 1
1. “Für Elise” Circa 2000 11
Interlude One: Baby Einstein and
Classical Music for Little People 29
2. From Hagiography to Pathography 39
Interlude Two: Glenn Gould, the
Last of the Musical Geniuses 58
3. East Meets West in the Concert Hall 66
4. Millennial Passions 90
Interlude Three: The Little
Orange Dress 110
5. Moulin Rouge! and the Undoing of Opera 118
Interlude Four: The Digital
Concert Hall 137
6. El Sistema L.A. 145
Postlude 166
Appendix 1: Filmography 169
Appendix 2: Discography 170
Notes 171
Bibliography 205
Index 219

Planet Beethoven