The sublime art of music, whether playing it, listening to it, or composing it, it all reflects culture, and as many would say,

it's among the greatest expressions of human experience and emotion.

That certainly is nothing unique to the Gilded Age. The power of music has

existed for centuries, and of course still does today. The music composed, played, and enjoyed

during America's Gilded Age communicated a lot about culture. It reflected a connection to

centuries-old European models and sensibilities.

It also reflected a nation that had just gone through a soul-wrenching civil war and wanted to

rebuild. But perhaps, most of all, so much of the music of the Gilded Age reflected a new drive,

a new spirit, a new nation, and a new identity.

As we will see in this show today, the wide range of music that Gilded Age audiences knew,

played, hummed, or, for some, anyway, tapped their silk-stockinged feet feet to whether in a concert hall, opera house,

drawing room, or saloon, was far more diverse than many realized.

Yes, we had classic symphonies, operas, and instrumental music coming from Europe,

or based on European tradition.

But we also had the beginnings of what could

be called truly American music, both classical and popular, which included the work of the

first American homegrown composers, both male and female. And we had the birth of revolutionary

music styles that included a blending of cultural traditions that produced ragtime, and as the 20th century grew, jazz.

Today, the gilded gentleman welcomes Dr. Christopher Brelix, a professional musician and historian who will take us on a tour of the music and musicians that captured the spirit

of America in the Gilded Age.

Music Hello, I'm Carl Raymond, the host of the Gilded Gentleman History podcast, where every other week we delve into worlds light and dark of America's Gilded Age, France's Belle-Epoch,

and England's late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

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