Chilean Art Music During the Cold War (1970-1990): Political Commitment, Exile and Democratizing Practices in Musics

Abstract

This thesis examines the work of Chilean composers during the turbulent period between 1970 and 1990, spanning the presidency of Salvador Allende and the subsequent coup d’état and dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The works produced during these years by Luis Advis (1935–2004), Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt (1925–2010), Celso Garrido-Lecca (1926–2025), and Juan Orrego-Salas (1919–2019) bear witness to Chile’s rapidly shifting political and cultural landscape, which forced many artists into exile or silence under the dictatorship. Some of these composers later collaborated with folk music ensembles to express solidarity during their exile, whether imposed or voluntarily embraced. Through selected case studies, this thesis argues that the musical output of these composers constitutes a cultural response to broader geopolitical forces shaping both highbrow and popular culture, particularly the power dynamics of the Global Cold War. By analyzing their lives and works, the study demonstrates how political developments in the Global North influenced cultural production in the Global South, while also highlighting the varied forms of resistance — both overt and covert — and the resilience exhibited by composers and musicians in the Global South. These dynamics extended beyond exile to include the imposition and adaptation of dominant musical styles, practices of cultural diplomacy between host and home countries, and negotiations of indigeneity in artistic expression, all of which affected the composers examined in this study. Accordingly, this thesis considers not only the musical characteristics of these works but also the historical, political, and cultural conditions that shaped their creation. In doing so, it presents these composers and their compositions as historically situated witnesses to their time and place.