Author(s): Kate Molleson

Music

A radical answer to Alex Ross' The Rest is Noise, Sound Within Sound fundamentally changes the way we think about classical music and the musicians who made it on a global scale.

The twentieth century was the century of modernity; in a world undergoing rapid transformation, musicians drew upon new technologies, social revolution and seismic geopolitical changes to bring forth a truly paradigm-shifting aural catalogue of human existence. Classical music flourished, and yet when we reflect on the genre's history its central figures seem to share three characteristics: they were white, male, and western.

Through charting the stories of ten forgotten sonic pioneers, Kate Molleson opens up the world of classical music far beyond its established centres, challenging stereotypical portrayals of the genre and shattering its traditional canon.

Traversing the globe from Ethiopia and the Philippines to Mexico, Russia, and beyond, she sheds light on the unheralded figures that altered the course of musical history, only to be sidelined and denied recognition during an era that systemically favoured certain sounds - and people - over others.

A survey of radical creativity rooted in ideas of protest, gender, race, ecology and resistance, Sound Within Sound is an energetic reappraisal of twentieth century classical music that announces the arrival of a vital talent.