Serbian Musical Identity: An Introduction

Abstract

There are several reasons why we decided to dedicate this double issue of Contemporary Music Review to the topic of Serbian musical identity. The concept of identity implies the existence of some individual or collective characteristic, or a feature, by which a certain person or social group is recognisable. Both ‘musical identity’ and ‘national identity’ are elusive, flexible, changeable, and context-dependent notions. The articles published in this issue help us consider whether, when, and under what conditions these two types of identities intersect and what type of musical works emerge from such overlaps. The example of Serbia is illustrative because this country, nested in the southeastern region of Europe, has changed its borders, names, and political systems several times since the beginning of the twentieth century, joining larger federations (monarchies or republics), only to later become independent again. These dynamic and still ongoing changes are the principal reason why the issue of national identities (in the plural) in Serbia, a continuously unstable region, is quite complex. Such volatility has inevitably affected all aspects of life in Serbia, including its cultural production. For composers of art music, these incessant changes have posed challenges in seeking to define, position, and identify themselves musically. The collection of articles in this double issue focuses on the complicated question of Serbian musical identity by examining the ways composers incorporate traditional and folk motives, narratives, and myths in their compositions, and how the syntheses of folk and ‘art’music idioms shape the composers’ cultural identity both within and beyond the borders of the country itself and the wider post-Yugoslav / Western Balkan region. Thus, the studies offer a historical, political, and socio-cultural Contemporary Music Review, 2022 Vol. 41, Nos. 5–6, 459–466, https://doi.org/10.1080/07494467.2022.2198830