Cultural Years: An Artistic Treasure Hunt

Introductory article to "Cultural Years: Music, the Arts and Society around the time of seven of the 19th- and 20th-century International Exhibitions [1851-1937]" [RADIO SERIES]. A seven-part radio series broadcast on Sundays at 10:30pm fortnightly from 1st April, 1990. Researched, written, presented and produced by Jonathan David Little for 3MBS-FM Fine Music Melbourne. CULTURAL YEARS - Series / Programme Description: “Cultural Years” was a seven-part radio series which discussed “Music, the Arts and Society around the time of seven of the great 19th- and 20th-century International Exhibitions” (see below). In examining the ideas which lay behind all of the arts in a given era – in fashion, architecture and landscaping, interior decoration, fine and decorative art, literature, philosophy, social theory and music – I was able to discover the similar aesthetic principles determining the production of works of art, and especially music, as part of the complete picture of Western cultural history during the period, following Professor Warren Allen’s statement that ‘One disappointing, although tacit assumption is that the history of music can be divorced from contemporary events’, and the comment of social music historian, Henry Raynor: ‘With all a reflection’s power of candid criticism, music and art mirrors the real face of the society to which it belongs’. Thus I have attempted to promote the appreciation of all the arts of the recent past by illustrating the connection between them, in order to redress the imbalance caused by modern specialization. Part 1: Music, the Arts and Society at the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851 Part 2: Music, the Arts and Society at the time of the Weltausstellung Wien of 1873 Part 3: Music, the Arts and Society at the time of the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 Part 4: Music, the Arts and Society at the time of the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 Part 5: Music, the Arts and Society to the eve of the First World War (Exposition Universelle et Industrielle, Ghent - 1913) Part 6: Music, the Arts and Society at the time of the Expositión Internacional de Barcelona in 1929 Part 7: Music, the Arts and Society at the time of the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris of 183