The Music of the Future - Tapa blanda

Anyone interested in the history and evolution of classical and avant garde composition, from the 17th Century to the present day Encompasses avant-garde composers, early 20th century futurists and contemporary electronica, examining these genres on their own terms, the political context of the day and in relation to the notion of individual genius. Raising the question of whether music is still evolving, or now trapped in a present now-ever, and why it is important that music should still move forward and grow. Marketing plans include extracts and author pieces in key music and cultural publications and broadsheet supplements, panels and podcasts with key partners such as Resident Advisor, dedicated show on NTS Radio. Synopsis: Charles Fourier imagined a whole society structured by music. Hector Berlioz wrote science fiction. Hugo Gernsback looked forward to telematic operas. John Cage imagined an infinite sound palette. But where are today's musical futurists? The Music of the Future is not a book of predictions or speculations about how to save the music business or the bleeding edge of technologies. Rather, is is more like a history of failures, mapping 200 years of attempts by composers, performers and critics to imagine a future for music. Encompassing utopian dream cities, temporal dislocations and projects for the emancipation of all sounds, The Music of the Future is finally a sort of call to arms for everyone engaged in music: to fail again, fail better.

Robert Barry is a freelance writer and composer, based in London. A regular contributor to Frieze, The Wire, Art Review, and Fact, he is also visual arts editor at The Quietus and digital culture editor at Review 31. His music has been featured in films and published, in the form of prose scores, by BCNVT of Stockholm, Sweden.