Music Glocalization and the Composer

Music Glocalization and the Composer: The Case of Franz Xaver Scharwenka by Mikolaj Rykowski proposes a discussion of relationship between artistic contexts of different scale: the pan-European, supposedly ‘universal’, context of art music and local circumstance of practicing music within a specific, historical community. The study skillfully connects the broad, theoretical approach of social sciences, mainly sociology and anthropology, with detailed historical and musicological analysis, to show how widely accepted general rules of music-making function in unique local environment. The book by Rykowski is then an important contribution both to the theoretic discussion of ‘glocalization’ phenomenon and to the theoretically informed history of musical practices in Europe. It also brings an insight into possibilities of interpretation of individual artistic output – Scharwenka’s one in this case – within the frame of broad socio-cultural processes. -- Krzysztof Moraczewski, Adam Mickiewicz University