German Funding of the American Avant Garde with Amy C. Beal

This week we are thrilled to bring a conversation with Amy C. Beal from UC Santa Cruz, whose book "New Music New Allies: Experimental Music in West Germany from the Zero Hour to Reunification" not only gives us insight into the role that German state funding has played in American experimental art since the Second World War, but also offers clues as to the unique responsibilities and complications inherent to that continued funding to the present day. 

We get to discuss how the US State Department funded Jazz concerts throughout Europe, the CIA involvement in cold war soft power art games, and she shares some novel insights as to the level of internal discrimination posed towards female Avant Garde composers of the time. 

Amy is a deeply researched guest, and we hope that the contemporary implications of this conversation are clear to see.

Have a great week!

Links:

New Music New Allies: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Amy-C-Beal/dp/0520247558