Joseph Straus's "Cultural Narratives of Old Age in the Lives, Work, and Reception of Old Musicians" explores the creative work of older musicians, challenging ageist stereotypes within the field of music. The book examines how cultural perceptions of aging influence the creation, reception, and understanding of music made by older individuals. Straus argues that the unique perspectives and experiences of older musicians should be celebrated rather than dismissed. He uses various case studies to illustrate how age impacts composition, performance, and listening practices. The book ultimately advocates for a more inclusive and equitable musical landscape that values the contributions of musicians of all ages.
Cultural Narratives of Old Age in the Lives, Work, and Reception of Old Musicians (Routledge, 2024) discusses the creative work of old musicians—composers, performers, listeners, and scholars—and how those forms of music- making are received and understood. Joseph Straus argues that composing oldly, performing oldly, and listening oldly are distinctive and valuable ways of making music—a difference, not a deficit; to be celebrated, not ignored or condemned. This book follows Age Studies in seeing old age through a cultural lens, as something created and understood in culture. Straus’ text seeks to identify the ways that old musicians (composers, performers, listeners, and scholars) accept, resist, adapt, and transform the cultural scripts for the performance of old age. Musicking oldly (making music in old age) often represents an attempt to rewrite ageist cultural scripts and to find ways of flourishing musically in a largely hostile landscape.
Joseph Straus is Distinguished Professor of Music at the City University of New York Graduate Center, specializing in music since 1900. He has written technical music-theoretical articles, analytical studies of music by a variety of modernist composers, and, more recently, a series of articles and books that engage disability as a cultural practice. You can also listen to his episodes on SMT-POD in which he further discusses musicking in old age.
Emily Ruth Allen is an Instructor in Music History and Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina.
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