Series
Volume 14
Studies in Latin American and Spanish History
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Echoes of Nineteenth-Century Liberalism in Iberian and Latin American Music
Edited by Luísa Cymbron, Alberto Hernández Mateos and João Silva
306 pages, 24 illus., 6 tables, bibliog., index
ISBN 978-1-80758-038-4 $135.00/£104.00 / Hb / Not Yet Published (October 2026)
eISBN 978-1-80758-039-1 eBook Not Yet Published
Description
Liberalism—in its political, economic, and ethical forms—shaped the 19th-century Western world. Rooted in philosophy and expressed through economic and political systems, liberalism was complex and often contradictory. This book explores the influence of liberalism on music in Portugal, Spain, and Latin America—regions where liberalism evolved amid conflict that left deep cultural marks. Rather than focusing on nation-states, the authors trace the circulation of music across borders and highlight cultural exchanges during pivotal moments such as the “Atlantic crises” (after 1807-08) and the revolutionary cycle of 1820–1823. Through operas, zarzuelas, the press, wind and brass bands, as well as debates on slavery, they reveal how liberalism was performed and imagined, offering a fresh perspective on music and ideology.
Luísa Cymbron is a professor of Music History at NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA FCSH). She has directed CESEM (the Centre for Music Studies) since 2023. Her research on 19th-century Portuguese music was groundbreaking. Her 2012 book Olhares sobre a música em Portugal no século XIX is the first to provide in-depth analyses of various aspects of 19th-century music in Portugal, while Francisco de Sá Noronha’s Biography (2019) explores the musical relations between Portugal and Brazil. Since 2020, she has edited two further books, and her current research focuses particularly on the history of music in the Atlantic region.
Alberto Hernández Mateos is a professor of Music History at the University of Salamanca. He previously worked at the Fundación Juan March in Madrid. His research explores musical thought and culture in the 18th and 19th centuries, focusing on the circulation of musicians across the Iberian world, cultural transfers, and musical historiography and criticism. He recently co-edited the volume Eximeno revisitado. Pensamiento y teoría musical en la Europa ilustrada (2024).
João Silva researches popular entertainment and its relationships with modernity, nationalism, historiography, technology, and everyday life in the Portuguese Empire. He is the editor of the journal World Popular Music and a program annotator for Portuguese concert halls, where he develops music appreciation programs and digital learning platforms. Silva teaches in specialist music schools and participates in the Scientific Board of Museo Nacional da Música, as well as part of the artistic direction team of the Festival Internacional de Música de Espinho (FIME).



