The books listed in this column address music as it relates to political expression or focus to a significant degree on relationships between individual musicians or musical communities and a governing authority. Most of the works listed were published within the previous half year. Readers are welcome to submit additional titles to [email protected] for possible inclusion in the next issue.

  • 1989: Bob Dylan Didn’t Have This To Sing About. By Joshua Clover. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. [xiii, 187 p. ISBN-13 978-0-520-25255-4. $21.95.]
  • Die Anfänge des sozialistischen Realismus in der sowjetischen Musik der 20er und 30er Jahre: Historische Hintergründe, ästhetische Diskurse und musikalische Genres. By Michael John. Bochum: Projektverlag, 2009. [660 p. ISBN-13 978-3-89733-192-1. €32.50.]
  • Baltic Musics, Baltic Musicologies: The Landscape since 1991. Edited by Kevin C. Karnes and Joachim Braun. London: Routledge, 2009. [vii, 140 p. ISBN-13 978-0-415-47232-6. $120.] Also published as: Journal of Baltic Studies 39, no. 3 (2008).
  • Beyond Lift Every Voice and Sing: The Culture of Uplift, Identity, and Politics in Black Musical Theater. By Paula Marie Seniors. (Black Performance and Cultural Criticism.) Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2009. [xv, 292 p. ISBN-13 978-0-8142-1100-7. $54.95.]
  • Chansonniers de Lima: Le vals et la chanson criolla, 1900–1936. By Gérard Borras. (Mondes hispanophones, 32.) Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2009. [409 p. + 1 CD. ISBN-13 978-2-7535-0866-8. €22.]
  • China with a Cut: Globalisation, Urban Youth, and Popular Music. By Jeroen de Kloet. (IIAS Publication Series.) Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2009. [264 p. ISBN-13 978-90-8964-162-5. $59.]
  • Chopin’s Polish Ballade: Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom. By Jonathan Bellman. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. [xvi, 197 p. ISBN-13 978-0-19-533886-7. $40.]
  • Composer sous Vichy. By Yannick Simon. (Perpetuum mobile.) Lyon: Symétrie, 2009. [424 p. ISBN-13 978-2-914373-57-9. €50.]
  • Composing the Citizen: Music as Public Utility in Third Republic France. By Jann Pasler. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. [xxi, 789 p. ISBN-13 978-0-520-25740-5. $60.]
  • Creative Life: Music, Politics, People, and Machines. By Bob Ostertag. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009. [194 p. ISBN-13 978-0-252-03451-0, $65 (hbk.); 978-0-252-07646-6, $20 (pbk.).]
  • Crisis Music: The Cultural Politics of Rock against Racism. By Ian Goodyear. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press, 2009. [xvi, 166 p. ISBN-13 978-0-7190-7924-5. $84.95.]
  • ¡Dentro de la Revolución todo, contra la Revolución nada!: Kontinuitäten populärer politischer Musik im revolutionären Kuba. By Simone Christine Münz. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2009. [120 p. ISBN-13 978-3639127713. €49.]
  • “Deutsche Musik”: Das Verhältnis von Ästhetik und Politik bei Hans Pfitzner. By Birgit Jürgens. (Historische Texte und Studien, 24.) Hildesheim: Olms, 2009. [ix, 363 p. ISBN-13 978-3-487-13997-5. €48.]
  • Die deutschen Gesang- und Gebetbücher für Soldaten und ihre Lieder. By Andreas F. Wittenberg. (Mainzer hymnologische Studien, 23.) Tübingen: Francke, 2009. [x, 444 p. ISBN-13 978-3-7720-8326-6. €68.]
  • Francesca Caccini at the Medici Court: Music and the Circulation of Power. By Suzanne G. Cusick. (Women in Culture and Society.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. [xxxvi, 445 p. + 1 CD. ISBN-13 978-0-226-13212-9. $60.]
  • A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears. By Antonio D’Ambrosio. New York: Nation Books, 2009. [xv, 279 p. ISBN-13 978-1-56858-407-2. $26.95.]
  • Hermeneutics and Music Criticism. By Roger W. H. Savage. New York: Routledge, 2010. [xiii, 198 p. ISBN-13 978-0-203-87515-5. $105.]
  • Hiding in the Spotlight: A Musical Prodigy’s Story of Survival, 1941–1946. By Greg Dawson. New York: Pegasus Books, 2009. [278 p. ISBN-13 978-1-60598-045-4. $25.]
  • La imagen de la monarquía: Loas en honor de Carlos IV y María Luisa de Parma. By Germán Labrador. (La música en los teatros de Madrid, 2.) Madrid: Alpuerto, 2009. [342 p. ISBN-13 978-84-381-0436-3. €26.]
  • Jazz Diplomacy: Promoting America in the Cold War Era. By Lisa E. Davenport. (American Made Music Series.) Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2009. [219 p. ISBN-13 978-1-60473-268-9. $50.]
  • Jazz et société sous l’Occupation. By Gérard Régnier. (Musiques et champ social.) Paris: Harmattan, 2009. [295 p. ISBN-13 978-2-296-10134-0. €28.]
  • Komponieren für und wider den Staat: Paul Dessau in der DDR. By Mattias Tischer. (KlangZeiten: Musik, Politik und Gesellschaft, 6.) Cologne: Böhlau, 2009. [viii, 344 p. ISBN-13 978-3-412-20459-4. €39.90.]
  • Life Adrift: Soeda Azembo, Popular Song, and Modern Mass Culture in Japan. By Soeda Azembo. Translated by Michael Lewis. (Routledge Contemporary Japan Series, 22.) London: Routledge, 2009. [xl, 286 p. ISBN-13 978-0-7103-1337-9. $124.]
  • The Lost Cellos of Lev Aronson. By Frances Brent. New York: Atlas, 2009. [216 p. ISBN-13 978-1-934633-11-3. $24.] An account of cellist Lev Aronson and his prized instruments during the Holocaust.
  • Music and Cultural Rights. Edited by Andrew N. Weintraub and Bell Yung. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. [ix, 313 p. ISBN-13 978-0-252-03473-2, $70 (hbk.); 978-0-252-07662-6, $25 (pbk.).]
  • Music and Dictatorship in Europe and Latin America. Edited by Roberto Illiano and Massimiliano Sala. (Speculum musicae, 14.) Turnhout: Brepols, 2009. [300 p. ISBN-13 978-2-503-52779-6. $181.]
  • Music of the Fourth of July: A Year-by-Year Chronicle of Performances and Songs Composed for the Occasion, 1778–2008. By James R. Heintze. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2009. [vii, 426 p. ISBN-13 978-0-7864-3979-9. $75.]
  • The Musical Traditions of Northern Ireland and Its Diaspora: Community and Conflict. By David Cooper. (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series.) Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2009. [xii, 186 p. ISBN-13 978-0-7546-6230-3, £55 (hbk.); 978-0-7546-9383-3, £49.50 (e-book).]
  • Musik und Kunst in der sowjetischen Revolutionskultur. By Wolfgang Mende. Cologne: Böhlau, 2009. [644 p. ISBN-13 978-3-412-20424-2. €79.90.]
  • My Red Blood: A Memoir of Growing up Communist, Coming onto the Greenwich Village Folk Scene, and Coming out in the Feminist Movement. By Alix Dobkin. New York: Alyson Books, 2009. [x, 275 p. ISBN-13 978-1-59350-107-5. $16.95.]
  • An Orchestra beyond Borders: Voices of the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra. By Elena Cheah. London: Verso, 2009. [viii, 280 p. ISBN-13 978-1-84467-408-4. $19.95.]
  • Protest Music in France: Production, Identity, and Audiences. By Barbara Lebrun. (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series.) Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2009. [192 p. ISBN-13 978-0-7546-6472-7. $89.95.]
  • Les relations franco-allemandes et la musique à programme, 1830–1914. By Damien Ehrhardt. (Perpetuum mobile.) Lyon: Symétrie, 2009. [163 p. ISBN-13 978-2-914373-43-2. €32.]
  • La renovación musical en Madrid durante la dictadura de Primo de Rivera: El Grupo de los Ochos, 1923–1931. By María Palacios. (Publicaciones de la Sociedad Española de Musicología.) Madrid: Sociedad Española de Musicología, 2008. [531 p. ISBN-13 978-84-86878-10-8. €50.50.]
  • Die Rezeption Richard Wagners in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Rettung eines schwierigen Erbes. By Jan Ingo Grüner. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2008. [82 p. ISBN-13 978-3-8364-6227-3. €49.]
  • Richard-Wagner-Rezeption in der Sowjetischen Besatzungzone (SBZ) und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR). By Matthias Duncker. (Studien zur Zeitgeschichte, 74.) Hamburg: Kovac, 2009. [225 p. ISBN-13 978-3-8300-4674-5. €58.]
  • Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the Performance of Memory. By Deborah Paredez. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. [xxiii, 259 p. ISBN-13 978-0-8223-4489-6, $79.95 (hbk.); 978-0-8223-4502-2, $22.95 (pbk.).]
  • Sound Diplomacy: Music and Emotions in Transatlantic Relations, 1850–1920. By Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. [xv, 333 p. ISBN-13 978-0-226-29215-1. $49.]
  • Sound Kapital: Beijing’s Music Underground. By Matthew Niederhauser and Chairman Ca. New York: Powerhouse, 2009. [176 p. ISBN-13 978-1-57687-521-6. $24.95.]
  • Voices of the Weak: Music and Minorities. Edited by Zuzana Jurkova and Lee Bidgood. Prague: Slovo21, 2009. [250 p. + 1 CD. ISBN-13 978-80-254-4095-7. €50.]
  • Von der “jüdischen Renaissance” ins Exil: Der Lebensweg Anneliese Landaus bis 1939 und ihr Begriff einer “jüdischen Musik.” By Till H. Lorenz. (Musik im “Dritten Reich” und im Exil, 14.) Neumünster: Von Bockel Verlag, 2009. [160 p. ISBN-13 978-3-932696-77-0. €35.]
  • Was die Mode streng geteilt?! Beethovens Neunte während der deutschen Teilung. By Christina M. Stahl. (Schott Campus.) Mainz: Schott, 2009. [283 p. ISBN-13 978-3-7957-0674-6. €39.95.]
  • Wicked Theory, Naked Practice: A Fred Ho Reader. By Fred Ho. Edited by Diane C. Fujino. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009. [xii, 427 p. ISBN-13 978-0-8166-5684-4, $75 (hbk.); 978-0-8166-5685-1, $24.95 (pbk.); 978-1-4416-1274-8, $75 (e-book).]
  • Zwölftonmusik mit doppeltem Boden: Exilerfahrung und politische Utopie in Wladimir Vogels Instrumentalwerken. By Doris Lanz. (Schweizer Beiträge zur Musikforschung, 13). Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2009. [280 p. ISBN-13 978-3-7618-1914-2. €39.95.]