Much of the music of the last century, especially art music, has been treated as intellectual property, and thus fixed and closed off to reuse or appropriation in new contexts. Such a mentality is both purist and anti-historical, as musical cultures around the world and throughout history have flourished and grown by reusing music in some way. In European history, one can find countless examples of existing music serving as the basis for new works, such as medieval motets based on chant, or the eclecticism of Haydn and Mozart’s music. The Romantic era, with its trends of originality and market-driven copyrights, witnessed a paradigm shift where music became less open to incorporating outside influences, and art music increasingly developed into a closed system of repetitive procedures. The possibilities of modern technology and a greater awareness of history, however, open up opportunities to integrate diverse resources and existing music into all kinds of genres and contexts to create imaginative new works and innovative musical expressions.

Index Classifications: General

Contributed by: Matthew G. Leone