Music of Miriam Gideon during the McCarthy era, including a complete catalogue of her works
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Date
27/06/2012Author
Robb, Mary
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Abstract
This thesis considers the musical response of the American composer,
Miriam Gideon to political events during the McCarthy era. It examines the
interrelationships between politics, society and culture and considers how these are
reflected in two works, Epitaphs from Robert Burns (1952) and Altered Steps to
Altered States (1953) that Gideon composed during this period. Specifically, this
thesis focuses on Gideon’s transition from teaching and composing music within an
academic setting to preparing for life in a musical world, without support from
mainstream academic institutions.
Following the Introduction, Chapter 2 documents the rise of anti-communist
practices on campus at Brooklyn College and City College, New York City where
Miriam Gideon held music teaching posts. It reconstructs the personal events that led
to the loss of both of these appointments and examines how and why this occurred. It
is argued that Gideon entered a period of ‘inner exile,’ and this concept and its
consequences for Gideon are explored in Chapter 3. An examination of her private
diaries demonstrates that the effects of the McCarthy era were not only physical, but
also psychological and social.
Chapters 4-6 consider Gideon’s music through the perspective of inner exile
and aim to show that the music that she wrote was a reflection of her experiences.
Gideon’s return to academia in 1955 and her rehabilitation back into the academy are
discussed in Chapter 7. A complete list of Gideon’s compositional output is included
and is organised chronologically, alphabetically and by genre. This thesis examines
new documents not previously available to scholars, and includes interviews
conducted by the author with Gideon’s former students and colleagues.