A speech by Professor Philip Ewell (GC/Hunter, Music) about racism in music theory has sparked a controversy so fractious that it’s generated media coverage ranging from Fox News and the Dallas Observer to Inside Higher Ed, NPR and the National Review.
The controversy is rooted in the legacy of Heinrich Schenker, whose techniques for analyzing classical music are widely taught. But Schenker, who died in Vienna in 1935, was also an outspoken white supremacist and German nationalist. Ewell says Schenker’s views on music cannot be separated from his views on race, and that the study of Schenkerian theory has helped “legitimize harmful stereotypes about Blacks and other people of color.” More…