Ian Bostridge Reflects on the Complexities of Identity in Music

For performers, grappling with issues of identity is a constant in their lives. Every time they take to the stage to perform a literary or musical piece, they are confronted with the decision of how to interpret it, and how to align it with their own sense of self. Should they embody the material in its original form, or should they mold it to fit their own identity? How should they balance their duty to the text, audience and themselves?

Ian Bostridge’s book “Song and Self” delves into these issues of identity, specifically around gender. He questions whether the real protagonist of Robert Schumann’s “Frauenliebe und -Leben” is actually the composer, whose anxieties and passions infused the cycle, and whether a man singing this cycle today would make a difference. Similarly, in “Curlew River,” Britten uses Noh theater’s ritualistic resources, including cross-gender casting, to tell a story that transcends the importance of the Madwoman’s gender.

Bostridge has also delved into how political issues can intersect with the sung persona, drawing on Ravel’s “Chansons Madécasses” as an example. This cycle includes a setting of an 18th-century protest against French colonization of Madagascar, yet the cry of “Beware of the whites” was written by Évariste Parny, a slave-owner. Ravel composed this piece during French colonial wars in North Africa, adding to the layer of complexity in who should sing this song and who owns it.

Despite these complexities, Bostridge believes that classical music should be explored more closely instead of being thrown away, especially in an era where its relevance and ideological stance are being questioned. The classical music tradition encourages questioning and interpreting complex musical pieces as a way to discover more about ourselves.