In 1895, a two volume book entitled The Music of the Modern World was published in New York. At first glance this might seem like any book of operatic analyses, but it proves to be a rare time capsule of music in the Americas at a crucial period of time. This book, edited by Anton Seidl, the director of the New York Philharmonic between 1891 and 1898, provides scholars with a unique and varied perspective on the dramatic changes that were happening in the music world at the end of the 19th century. In contrast to public opinion throughout the 19th century, music that was conceived within the Americas was being recognized for the first time. Young composers and musicians like Justin Ring and Will Marion Cook were beginning to take note of music performed by Native Americans and formerly enslaved African Americans. While it might seem obvious to us today, this musical outlook was just beginning in the 1890s, and was what led to the conception of ragtime and later jazz, now uniquely American art forms.
At the time of the book’s publication, Anton Seidl was the director of the New York Philharmonic, and he made a big splash
