Musical Argonauts of Central Asia

Theodore Levin is the Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music at Dartmouth College. He first visited Central Asia in 1974 and has been traveling there ever since. As an advocate for music and musicians from other cultures, he has written books, produced recordings, curated concerts and festivals, and contributed to international arts initiatives, including, since 2000, the Aga Khan Music Programme. His previous books include Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond; The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York); and, as lead editor, The Music of Central Asia.

• Accessing Audiovisual MaterialsAcknowledgmentsNote on TransliterationList of AcronymsPrefacePrologue: The Conundrum of Cultural Heritage1. The Prince and the Ethnomusicologist2. Revitalizing Central Asian Music3. The Little NGO that Could: Centre Ustatshakirt and the Future of the Past in Kyrgyzstan4. Putting Central Asian Music on the World Stage5. Measuring Music's Impact6. The Aga Khan Master Musicians (AKMM): Pluralists, Orientalists, Cultural Appropriators, or All of the Above?7. Inventing a Music Prize: The Aga Khan Music Awards8. Taking Stock: The Ethnography of ImpactEpilogueNotesReferencesIndex

"This unique book spans personal memoir, ethnomusicology, development studies, and the cultural history of Central Asia. Levin's description of the Aga Khan Music Programme is as absorbing and moving as the musicking worlds that are the book's subject." - Shahzad Bashir, Dean, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, Aga Khan University"With his brilliantly produced concerts and wonderful recordings, Ted Levin has long been my guide to the music of Central Asia. Levin's new book provides a fascinating account of how he and colleagues at the Aga Khan Foundation triggered a revival of the teaching, performing and appreciation of the region's traditional music. Filled with anecdote and vivid characters, including villainous ex-Soviet bureaucrats and heroic virtuosi, Musical Argonauts of Central Asia is an inspiring and illuminating read." - Joe Boyd, author of And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey through Global Music"Musical Argonauts of Central Asia is a truly unique and uniquely valuable contribution to ethnomusicology and development studies. It addresses deep theoretical dilemmas without pedantry; to the contrary, it carries the reader along with the momentum of a page-turner. The story is gripping, with many fascinating twists and turns, and it raises the most important issues in marvelously vivid ways." - Marc A. Perlman, author of Unplayed Melodies: Javanese Gamelan and the Genesis of Music Theory"Musical Argonauts of Central Asia grapples with fundamental questions regarding the potential for music to contribute to the well-being of people, particularly in the context of cultural development projects." - Richard K. Wolf, author of The Voice in the Drum: Music, Language and Emotion in Islamicate South Asia