The significance of Western art music in contemporary, metropolitan India

This thesis explores the significance of Western art music in contemporary, metropolitan India. Western art music has had a presence in India in some form since at least the sixteenth century enduring seismic economic, cultural, political, technological, ideological, musical and social change. In recent years, interest in Western art music has grown in India’s metropolitan cities, raising questions about its significance in these settings. Through case studies I show the ways in which broader economic, cultural, political, technological, ideological, musical and social factors are entwined and articulated in the narratives and experiences of individuals, groups and institutions involved with Western art music. I draw on a relational theoretical framework to theorise the significance of Western art music in contemporary, metropolitan India; its significance is shaped by the sets of relations and interactions that surround it, as well as being generated through social and lived experience. Through the empirical data, Western art music is shown to be uniquely positioned in contemporary, metropolitan India, encouraging those involved to engage with diverse sets of relations and interactions in order to understand, engage with and mobilise this music. Little has been written on this topic; this thesis serves to redress this lacuna and contributes to ethnomusicological understandings of Western art music in the specific context of India as well as more generally.