Politics and Avant-garde Music in France, 1968-1981

FAIN: FA-53115-07

Eric Austin Drott
University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX 78712-0100)

"Music after May" addresses the impact that the May 1968 uprisings in France had upon avant-garde music during the 'long 1970s,' a period stretching from the failed revolution of 1968 to the socialists' electoral victory in 1981. The project examines how the political milieu of the post-68 period affected the efforts of composers, performers and critics to position new music in the public sphere, and how these efforts evolved as the memory of May receded.