Articles and Chapters by Johan Larson Lindal
Crisis: The Avant-Garde and Modernism in Critical Modes, 2022
Books by Johan Larson Lindal
The dissertation studies how one ‘modern’ piece of music from the early 20th century became conce... more The dissertation studies how one ‘modern’ piece of music from the early 20th century became conceptualised as an idealised musical work: the Third String Quartet, opus 20 (op. 20) by Austrian composer Ernst Krenek (1900–1991). The idealistic musical work concept holds that any piece of music has an eternal, non-spatiotemporal existence and that it is the product of an identifiable creator’s work. While this concept has been studied critically, there are too few historical studies on its everyday practices. Drawing on nominalist music philosophy of for instance Lydia Goehr as well as the sociological perspective Actor-Network Theory (ant), op. 20 is studied as an historical actor or actant participating in events and associations of actors and objects, forming a broader movement which constitutes its historical conceptualisation as a musical work. In this movement, aspects of ephemerality, fixity, concreteness, and abstraction are explored and discussed. Together with ant, micro-history is used to explore op. 20’s history and its many gaps. Beginning with Krenek’s composition process in 1922–1923 within the ‘New Music’ networks, then ending with the piece’s reappearance in American exile in 1940, the study identifies three main mechanisms for conceptualising op. 20 as a work. These were the agency of the piece itself in influencing its co-actants, the degrees and repertoires of fixity which helped stabilising it, and its affinity with certain associations and actants such as Paul Hindemith, Universal-Edition, and Ernst Krenek. Having experienced a highly acclaimed premiere in 1923, publication in 1924, recording in 1925, and international performances by various ensembles during the 1920s, op. 20 nearly disappeared from musical life between 1929 and 1937, although it remained as a fixed yet abstract work in musical literature. With New Music associations in Europe scattered following the rise of Nazi Germany, op. 20’s subsequent ‘exile’ reappearances as concrete-ephemeral performances in Switzerland and the u.s. testified to the interplay of agency, fixity, and affinity in the work’s interwar movement.
Conference Papers by Johan Larson Lindal
Annual Conference for the International Society for the History and Theory of Intellectual Property (ISHTIP), 20–22 June 2022, Gothenburg., 2022
Scholarship on early 20th century ‘mechanical-musical rights’ has largely focused on the legislat... more Scholarship on early 20th century ‘mechanical-musical rights’ has largely focused on the legislative and multilateral frameworks structuring the rights and agencies of the stakeholders involved (see Dommann 2019; Fleischer 2015; Albinsson 2013). Stakeholders conventionally include record companies, publishers, composers, musicians, retailers, and audiences. While such frameworks are indeed essential for understanding mechanical-musical IP history, they leave out the non-human agencies involved in the everyday spaces and situations in which these frameworks become commonsensically relevant to their adherents. Gavin Steingo (2018), for instance, has recently highlighted the importance of non-human actants, randomness, and accidents in creating specific musical agencies and networks. This paper discusses agencies of the gramophone and its components, as well as the phonogram, but also the role of specific spatiotemporal situations involved in producing one of the early 20th century mechanical IP regime’s legal subjects, the individual author of recorded music. The starting point is Austrian composer Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) whose works were recorded from 1925 on. Exploring the issue of mechanical-musical rights from the time of Krenek’s first recordings until the outbreak of World War II, the paper mainly draws on his lengthy correspondence with music publisher Universal-Edition (1921-1941), with complementary excerpts from his memoirs Im Atem der Zeit (1942; published 1998) and his book Music Here and Now (1939). The paper goes on to show that mechanical-musical rights did indeed become a concern for Krenek during the interwar period, including a genuine commitment toward interest organisations such as German AMMRE. However, this predominantly occurred as the result of chance encounters of music records, rather than as a deliberate strategy. Thus, the paper problematises the everyday micro practices of an early, emerging mechanical-musical IP regime, as well as the socio-material conditions for creating yet another legal subjecthood in music, that of the ‘mechanical’ author.
The Creative IPR International Conference, 17–18 February 2022, Oslo., 2022
By the early 1930s, mechanical-musical rights had become an increasingly interesting topic for co... more By the early 1930s, mechanical-musical rights had become an increasingly interesting topic for composers, as record sales might compensate for the decline in sheet music. However, collectively organising composers around this cause was increasingly becoming contested ground with ideological and geopolitical implications. Corporatism, often meaning the centralising function of the state in the ‘harmonisation’ of labour and capital to resolve trade conflicts, was advocated by newly established authoritarian regimes in the 1930s, first by Fascist Italy, later joined by Nazi Germany (Baldwin, 2016; Garberding, 2009; Kjaer, 2016). Corporatist ideas were also exported and promoted in international bodies such as copyright societies (Fleischer, 2015; Martin, 2016 & 2019). At the same time, these international bodies were founded upon different ideas rooted in French Enlightenment philosophy on confederalism and autonomy, often stressing the independence and agency of member bodies in larger confederations (Golove, 2003). In this paper I study how conflicts between corporatism and confederal autonomy was negotiated within the internationalisation of copyright in the early record industry. My case is the internal structure and development of the ‘Mechanical Rights Federation’ or ‘Third Federation’, a sub-committee within the Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in the years preceding World War II. Founded in 1932, the Third Federation formulated CISAC’s official stance vis-à-vis the international record industry.
While the early history of multilateral organisations in music has been covered recently (see Sibille, 2016), the internal challenges of many of these organisations remain largely unexplored. Although CISAC’s early history has been studied, many of its internal developments remain largely overlooked (see for instance Dommann, 2019). Drawing on CISAC’s rich congress protocols 1932-1938 and its public bulletin Inter-Auteurs 1932-1939, the paper explores how the argumentation for corporate or confederal ideals developed within the Third Federation as it came under increasing dominance of Italian and German representatives. The sources reveal how ideals of ‘corporatism’ and a ‘spirit of confederalism’ co-existed as foundations for solutions to the challenges to recorded music, advocated by different members of the Third Federation’s board, even as leadership was assumed by authoritarian officials. Particularly contested was the often proposed incorporation of the Third Federation into another contemporary mechanical rights body, BIEM. Corporate ideals were however met with resistance as late as the last studied congress in 1938 by, for instance, Polish delegate Walery Rudnicki. The CISAC’s founding principles of confederalism were sporadically invoked as argument for maintaining the independency of the Federation in relation to other international bodies. In conclusion, neither of these two ideals were realised during the period.
Knowledge History Conference, 2023
This paper deals with the circulation of “modern”, “contemporary”, or “new” music in knowledge or... more This paper deals with the circulation of “modern”, “contemporary”, or “new” music in knowledge organisation during the interwar years through a case study of German-Jewish musicologist, philologist, and philosopher Lotte Kallenbach-Greller (“LKG”, 1893-1968). While critical perspectives of the development of European musicology and music historiography have highlighted music as an object of knowledge, there is still little work done on the knowledge organisation of music during the early 20th century. In the case of “contemporary” or “new” music, concepts which were still contested during the period, there is even less. LKG’s life and work have been studied to some extent, though her role in producing historiographies of “modern music” and its various synonyms has not received much attention.
This paper therefore explores the general impact of LKG’s contributions to European German-speaking and English-speaking music historiographies and dictionaries such as Hugo Riemann’s Musiklexikon (1929) and Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1927; 1940) as well as specialised music journals of the period. The main guiding question concerns the insertion and use of LKG’s writings into historiographical narratives and definitions on various aspects of “contemporary music.” My findings suggest that LKG’s knowledge was an important contribution to an early historiography of the ‘present tendencies’ and ‘problems’ in “contemporary” music and especially with regard to quarter-tone composition – a topic which she specifically dealt with – in German-speaking publications until 1933, while her work’s impact beyond these remained limited. The paper also discusses and suggests approaches for further critical studies of ‘modern music’ in music knowledge organisation.
Neue Sachlichkeit North and South – Transforming Music during the European Interwar Years (and Beyond), 9–11 April 2024, Stockholm., 2024
This paper deals with the knowledge transfer of the 1920s concept of Neue Sachlichkeit or “New Ob... more This paper deals with the knowledge transfer of the 1920s concept of Neue Sachlichkeit or “New Objectivity” into Swedish musical life through the Swedish Society for Contemporary Music (Internationella sällskapet för samtida musik, ISSM) 1923–1939. My emphasis will be on Swedish ISSM members transla0ng musical knowledge with regards to “New Objectivity” from the continental (mainly German speaking) context into Swedish discourse.
The ISSM was the Swedish sec=on of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). The ISCM was founded in 1922 in Salzburg as an international support and exchange organisation for “contemporary” art music. Although Swedish attitudes to interwar continental European musical “modernism” have often been characterized as moderate, reactionary, or disinterested, Swedish composers did found the ISSM already in 1923, directly corresponding to the creation of the central ISCM.
Although the ISSM was poorly represented at the annual ISCM festivals during the interwar years, several members attended the events and translated what they heard and saw to readers at home. Although much of Sweden’s musical life was characterized by romanticism and traditionalism well until the post-war era, ‘New Objectivity’ was, in its various definitions, brought into Swedish musical discourses by the ISSM. The paper studies the ISSM’s main arenas of knowledge exchange: correspondences of individual members such as Hilding Rosenberg, as well as articles and announcements connected to the ISSM in the music press. ‘New Objectivity’ in music, often referred to as nysaklighet, only entered the ISSM’s arenas in the late 1920s, several years after Germany. Their translations of ‘New Objectivity’ into Swedish discourses focused on the high potential of Swedish composers of ‘reaching’ the audience, ‘adapting’ to contemporary society, and ‘embracing’ the functionality of musical ‘material.’ However, these aspects were described as being mostly lost on Swedish musical life.
Musica Mercata: Finance, Commodity and the Music Industry from Antiquity to the Present, 5–7 June 2024, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki., 2024
Record collecting, be it as a social, cultural, or commercial activity, has been a significant as... more Record collecting, be it as a social, cultural, or commercial activity, has been a significant aspect of the music industry in the 20th century. Collecting encompasses not only the assembling of a number of musical objects into one unit, but also the assembling of various forms of knowledge
connected to those objects and what they are believed to represent. The rise of a market of recorded music, itself an emblem of musical ‘modernisation,’ coincided with an emerging and contested discussion on the fundamental nature and problems of ‘modern’ music, both in terms of popular styles such as Jazz as well as new movements within the Western art music tradition. This paper explores ecologies of record collecting in 1920s Europe and U.S. and how collecting procedures created narratives of ‘modern’ music. Although musical ‘modernism’ has long been studied in relation to the record industry, the contribution of this paper concerns how definitions and conceptualisations of ‘modern’ music were materially supported through record collecting in networks of knowledge circulation.
My study focuses on specialized phonographic journals as well as discussions on recordings in the music press, with special emphasis on the emerging communication between individual collectors and listeners vis-à-vis appointed ‘experts’ on recorded music. On the one hand, the paper shows that narratives of ‘modern’ recorded music circulated via commercial collection-making, for example in the form of proposed ‘budget packages’ within the music press. This was primarily a one-way communication pattern targeting collectors as consumers. However, the collecting of recorded ‘modern’ music could also be an object of discussion and negotiation which helped constitute subjectivities of ‘experts’ and ‘lay’ collectors on what the concept encompassed. The paper seeks to stimulate further discussion on the historical importance of collecting as part of knowledge circulation.
Theses by Johan Larson Lindal
The aim of the thesis is to examine the power of organized composers of art music in interwar Swe... more The aim of the thesis is to examine the power of organized composers of art music in interwar Sweden and their development of areas of interest 1919-1939. The period is chosen due to the 1918 founding of the Society of Swedish Composers (the FST). Although of significant value, most of the previous research on the subject has focused on individual composers. The thesis, instead, combines concepts of Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural fields with power theories of Steven Lukes and Walter Korpi to investigate access to power resources and exercise of power within the field of music by the FST and its members 1919-1939. The results show that the FST of 1939 had greater access to economic capital, which correlated with the expansion of the FST's exercise of power and areas of interest concerning the whole field of Swedish music, rather than exclusively the field of art music. Social networks tied to the FST, however, never ceased to be an important factor influencing the operations of the FST.
The aim of the thesis is to examine the power of organized composers of art music in interwar Swe... more The aim of the thesis is to examine the power of organized composers of art music in interwar Sweden and their development of areas of interest 1919-1939. The period is chosen due to the 1918 founding of the Society of Swedish Composers (the FST). Although of significant value, most of the previous research on the subject has focused on individual composers. The thesis, instead, combines concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural fields with power theories of Steven Lukes and Walter Korpi to investigate access to power resources and exercise of power within the field of music by the FST and its members 1919-1939. The results show that the FST of 1939 had greater access to economic capital, which correlated with the expansion of the FST’s exercise of power and areas of interest concerning the whole field of Swedish music, rather than exclusively the field of art music. Social networks tied to the FST, however, never ceased to be an important factor influencing the operations of...
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Articles and Chapters by Johan Larson Lindal
Books by Johan Larson Lindal
Conference Papers by Johan Larson Lindal
While the early history of multilateral organisations in music has been covered recently (see Sibille, 2016), the internal challenges of many of these organisations remain largely unexplored. Although CISAC’s early history has been studied, many of its internal developments remain largely overlooked (see for instance Dommann, 2019). Drawing on CISAC’s rich congress protocols 1932-1938 and its public bulletin Inter-Auteurs 1932-1939, the paper explores how the argumentation for corporate or confederal ideals developed within the Third Federation as it came under increasing dominance of Italian and German representatives. The sources reveal how ideals of ‘corporatism’ and a ‘spirit of confederalism’ co-existed as foundations for solutions to the challenges to recorded music, advocated by different members of the Third Federation’s board, even as leadership was assumed by authoritarian officials. Particularly contested was the often proposed incorporation of the Third Federation into another contemporary mechanical rights body, BIEM. Corporate ideals were however met with resistance as late as the last studied congress in 1938 by, for instance, Polish delegate Walery Rudnicki. The CISAC’s founding principles of confederalism were sporadically invoked as argument for maintaining the independency of the Federation in relation to other international bodies. In conclusion, neither of these two ideals were realised during the period.
This paper therefore explores the general impact of LKG’s contributions to European German-speaking and English-speaking music historiographies and dictionaries such as Hugo Riemann’s Musiklexikon (1929) and Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1927; 1940) as well as specialised music journals of the period. The main guiding question concerns the insertion and use of LKG’s writings into historiographical narratives and definitions on various aspects of “contemporary music.” My findings suggest that LKG’s knowledge was an important contribution to an early historiography of the ‘present tendencies’ and ‘problems’ in “contemporary” music and especially with regard to quarter-tone composition – a topic which she specifically dealt with – in German-speaking publications until 1933, while her work’s impact beyond these remained limited. The paper also discusses and suggests approaches for further critical studies of ‘modern music’ in music knowledge organisation.
The ISSM was the Swedish sec=on of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). The ISCM was founded in 1922 in Salzburg as an international support and exchange organisation for “contemporary” art music. Although Swedish attitudes to interwar continental European musical “modernism” have often been characterized as moderate, reactionary, or disinterested, Swedish composers did found the ISSM already in 1923, directly corresponding to the creation of the central ISCM.
Although the ISSM was poorly represented at the annual ISCM festivals during the interwar years, several members attended the events and translated what they heard and saw to readers at home. Although much of Sweden’s musical life was characterized by romanticism and traditionalism well until the post-war era, ‘New Objectivity’ was, in its various definitions, brought into Swedish musical discourses by the ISSM. The paper studies the ISSM’s main arenas of knowledge exchange: correspondences of individual members such as Hilding Rosenberg, as well as articles and announcements connected to the ISSM in the music press. ‘New Objectivity’ in music, often referred to as nysaklighet, only entered the ISSM’s arenas in the late 1920s, several years after Germany. Their translations of ‘New Objectivity’ into Swedish discourses focused on the high potential of Swedish composers of ‘reaching’ the audience, ‘adapting’ to contemporary society, and ‘embracing’ the functionality of musical ‘material.’ However, these aspects were described as being mostly lost on Swedish musical life.
connected to those objects and what they are believed to represent. The rise of a market of recorded music, itself an emblem of musical ‘modernisation,’ coincided with an emerging and contested discussion on the fundamental nature and problems of ‘modern’ music, both in terms of popular styles such as Jazz as well as new movements within the Western art music tradition. This paper explores ecologies of record collecting in 1920s Europe and U.S. and how collecting procedures created narratives of ‘modern’ music. Although musical ‘modernism’ has long been studied in relation to the record industry, the contribution of this paper concerns how definitions and conceptualisations of ‘modern’ music were materially supported through record collecting in networks of knowledge circulation.
My study focuses on specialized phonographic journals as well as discussions on recordings in the music press, with special emphasis on the emerging communication between individual collectors and listeners vis-à-vis appointed ‘experts’ on recorded music. On the one hand, the paper shows that narratives of ‘modern’ recorded music circulated via commercial collection-making, for example in the form of proposed ‘budget packages’ within the music press. This was primarily a one-way communication pattern targeting collectors as consumers. However, the collecting of recorded ‘modern’ music could also be an object of discussion and negotiation which helped constitute subjectivities of ‘experts’ and ‘lay’ collectors on what the concept encompassed. The paper seeks to stimulate further discussion on the historical importance of collecting as part of knowledge circulation.
Theses by Johan Larson Lindal
While the early history of multilateral organisations in music has been covered recently (see Sibille, 2016), the internal challenges of many of these organisations remain largely unexplored. Although CISAC’s early history has been studied, many of its internal developments remain largely overlooked (see for instance Dommann, 2019). Drawing on CISAC’s rich congress protocols 1932-1938 and its public bulletin Inter-Auteurs 1932-1939, the paper explores how the argumentation for corporate or confederal ideals developed within the Third Federation as it came under increasing dominance of Italian and German representatives. The sources reveal how ideals of ‘corporatism’ and a ‘spirit of confederalism’ co-existed as foundations for solutions to the challenges to recorded music, advocated by different members of the Third Federation’s board, even as leadership was assumed by authoritarian officials. Particularly contested was the often proposed incorporation of the Third Federation into another contemporary mechanical rights body, BIEM. Corporate ideals were however met with resistance as late as the last studied congress in 1938 by, for instance, Polish delegate Walery Rudnicki. The CISAC’s founding principles of confederalism were sporadically invoked as argument for maintaining the independency of the Federation in relation to other international bodies. In conclusion, neither of these two ideals were realised during the period.
This paper therefore explores the general impact of LKG’s contributions to European German-speaking and English-speaking music historiographies and dictionaries such as Hugo Riemann’s Musiklexikon (1929) and Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1927; 1940) as well as specialised music journals of the period. The main guiding question concerns the insertion and use of LKG’s writings into historiographical narratives and definitions on various aspects of “contemporary music.” My findings suggest that LKG’s knowledge was an important contribution to an early historiography of the ‘present tendencies’ and ‘problems’ in “contemporary” music and especially with regard to quarter-tone composition – a topic which she specifically dealt with – in German-speaking publications until 1933, while her work’s impact beyond these remained limited. The paper also discusses and suggests approaches for further critical studies of ‘modern music’ in music knowledge organisation.
The ISSM was the Swedish sec=on of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). The ISCM was founded in 1922 in Salzburg as an international support and exchange organisation for “contemporary” art music. Although Swedish attitudes to interwar continental European musical “modernism” have often been characterized as moderate, reactionary, or disinterested, Swedish composers did found the ISSM already in 1923, directly corresponding to the creation of the central ISCM.
Although the ISSM was poorly represented at the annual ISCM festivals during the interwar years, several members attended the events and translated what they heard and saw to readers at home. Although much of Sweden’s musical life was characterized by romanticism and traditionalism well until the post-war era, ‘New Objectivity’ was, in its various definitions, brought into Swedish musical discourses by the ISSM. The paper studies the ISSM’s main arenas of knowledge exchange: correspondences of individual members such as Hilding Rosenberg, as well as articles and announcements connected to the ISSM in the music press. ‘New Objectivity’ in music, often referred to as nysaklighet, only entered the ISSM’s arenas in the late 1920s, several years after Germany. Their translations of ‘New Objectivity’ into Swedish discourses focused on the high potential of Swedish composers of ‘reaching’ the audience, ‘adapting’ to contemporary society, and ‘embracing’ the functionality of musical ‘material.’ However, these aspects were described as being mostly lost on Swedish musical life.
connected to those objects and what they are believed to represent. The rise of a market of recorded music, itself an emblem of musical ‘modernisation,’ coincided with an emerging and contested discussion on the fundamental nature and problems of ‘modern’ music, both in terms of popular styles such as Jazz as well as new movements within the Western art music tradition. This paper explores ecologies of record collecting in 1920s Europe and U.S. and how collecting procedures created narratives of ‘modern’ music. Although musical ‘modernism’ has long been studied in relation to the record industry, the contribution of this paper concerns how definitions and conceptualisations of ‘modern’ music were materially supported through record collecting in networks of knowledge circulation.
My study focuses on specialized phonographic journals as well as discussions on recordings in the music press, with special emphasis on the emerging communication between individual collectors and listeners vis-à-vis appointed ‘experts’ on recorded music. On the one hand, the paper shows that narratives of ‘modern’ recorded music circulated via commercial collection-making, for example in the form of proposed ‘budget packages’ within the music press. This was primarily a one-way communication pattern targeting collectors as consumers. However, the collecting of recorded ‘modern’ music could also be an object of discussion and negotiation which helped constitute subjectivities of ‘experts’ and ‘lay’ collectors on what the concept encompassed. The paper seeks to stimulate further discussion on the historical importance of collecting as part of knowledge circulation.