SOUND WITHIN SOUND masterfully celebrates undervalued classical composers

How many 20th century classical composers can you name? Now, how many of those are not white, not male, and not from Europe or the US? 

This set of questions provides potentially useful context for Kate Molleson’s masterful new book, Sound Within Sound. Personally, I struggled with naming composers who fit into these categories, such has been my own experience of the lack of media and educational bandwidth afforded those of more diverse backgrounds, who have otherwise made their mark in the world of classical music. 

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the associated reckoning with how we understand the history and whose perspective it is viewed, Molleson has delivered a fascinating introduction to 10 key figures in 20th-century classical music whose contributions have, to varying degrees, failed to achieve acceptance in the hearts of western audiences in the way that the works of, say, Cage or Britten have. 

Molleson is clear that this is not about devaluing the accepted canon of classical heavyweights, but rather celebrating “composers who got left out” that deserve the adoration of a wider audience. The careers and legacies of talents like Emahoy Tsegué-Mariam Guèbru, described here as “Ethiopia’s Piano Royalty”, and Éliane Radigue and her “awesomely gradual” compositions, are aired and discussed in engaging prose. The 10 mini-biographies, as a collection, provide a mind-expanding selection that challenges the reader to enlighten themselves.