The book by Prof. Anna G. Piotrowska From Gypsy to Bohemian: A Study of the Musical Rhapsody, published in 2021 by Brepols publishing house as part of the Speculum Musicae series, has won the Alan Walker Book Award. The awarded work attempts to present the overall history of rhapsody and, re-interpreting the origins of the genre, redefine its place in the European culture, not only in the field of music.
The Alan Walker Book Award is presented every three years by the American Liszt Society to the books in English which significantly contribute to the development of Ferenz Liszt scholarship. The topics include the life and work of the Hungarian composer and his pupils as well as other Liszt-related issues. The official presentation of the award will take place in October 2024 during the American Liszt Society Festival.
The book summary, published on the publisher’s website, reads: ‘This volume examines the concept of rhapsody through a broad lens. Beginning with a discussion of the meaning(s) of the term itself, it then traces the history and reception of the genre and its significance in European culture. It argues for a close relationship between the idea of rhapsody and the concept of Gypsiness by demonstrating that 'rhapsody' and 'Gypsiness' can be seen as manifestations of the same types of influence and preferences for certain aesthetic categories. The book pays special attention to the seminal role of Franz Liszt in its discussion of the instrumental rhapsody. Ultimately, it reveals the consequences of historiographical representations of the rhapsody (e.g. the ossification of the image of the European Gypsy musician as a bard/rhapsode, the fossilization of presumptions concerning the nature of so-called 'Gypsies') as well as unexpected similarities and differences between the rhapsody and the ballad as romantic genres with national implications’.
Dr hab. Anna G. Piotrowska, Prof. UJ studied musicology at the Jagiellonian University and Durham University. She has authored a number of books and papers on European and American musical culture, including Music, City and the Roma under Communism (New York, 2022) or Gypsy Music in European Culture (Boston, 2013). She is also interested in popular music and film music. She has been part of international research groups, has received scholarships from prestigious foundations, and her publications have won numerous Polish and international awards.
