John Zorn. Jak być żydowskim postmodernistą (albo postmodernistycznym Żydem)?
John Zorn: how to be a Jewish postmodernist (or postmodern Jew)?

Summary/Abstract: Being one of the most prominent figures of the New York avant-garde scene since the early 1980s of the 20th century – John Zorn is almost nonexistent in the Polish musical studies. Moreover, even though his art is densely packed with the dilemmas of the contemporary culture, Zorn’s music seems to be unnoticed neither by the anthropology nor by the cultural studies. Style-wise, due to the theory of the Jonathan Kramer and other notable music theorists, John Zorn’s music should be classified as connected to the postmodern movement. In his early works Zorn explores different musical contexts: the concept of “high” and “low” styles, structural unity, eclecticism, popular culture, etc. But dated from the release of the album, titled Kristallnacht, the next period of Zorn‘s musical activity is deeply involved in search for the Jewish identity in music and therefore rerouted to the new political religious social and traditional context. In short, John Zorn through his music is questioning the fundamental issues of contemporary culture: its identity, existence and tradition.

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