The linking theme of the essays collected here is the intersection of musical work with social and cultural practice. Inspired by Professor Strohm's ideas, as is fitting in a volume in his
honour, leading scholars in the field explore diverse conceptualizations of the 'work' within the contexts of a specific repertory, over four main sections. Music in Theory and Practice studies
the link between treatises and musical practice, and analyses how historical writings can reveal period views on the 'work' in music before 1800. Art and Social Process: Music in Court and
Urban Societies looks at the social and cultural practices informing composition from the late Renaissance until the mid-eighteenth century, and interrogates current notions of canon formation
and the exchange between local and foreign traditions. Creating an Opera Industry focuses on how genre and artistic autonomy were defined in operas from diverse eras and countries, explaining
the role of literature and politics in this process. Finally, The Crisis of Modernity treats nineteenth-century music, offering new models for 'work' and 'context' to challenge reigning
theories of the meaning of these terms. CONTRIBUTORS: AMNON SHILOAH, ANNA MARIA BUSSE BERGER, MARGARET BENT, EDWARD WICKHAM, BONNIE J. BLACKBURN, DAVID BRYANT, ELENA QUARANTA, OWEN REES, ALINA
ZORAWSKA-WITKOWSKA, ELLEN T. HARRIS, CHRISTOPH WOLFF, NORBERT DUBOWY, MICHAEL TALBOT, MELANIA BUCCIARELLI, FRANCESCA MENCHELLI-BUTTINI, BERTA JONCUS, MICHEL NOIRAY, MICHAEL FEND, EMANUELE
SENICI, FEDERICO CELESTINI, PAMELA POTTER, GIOVANNI MORELLI, JANET SMITH
