Read more
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgment
Prologue: In the Circle of the Official and Personal Memories
Part I: City and Music
1.1. The Tradition of Music-Making in the Streets
1.2. Romani Music-Making in Central and Eastern Europe
1.3. Romani Musicians in the Cities: Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest
Part II Roma and Communism
2.1. The Roma in Communistic Poland: The Case of Nowa Huta
2.2. Romani Musicians from Nowa Huta: Traditions versus New Expectations
2.3. Romani State-Supported Ensembles: On the example of ROMA from Kraków
Part III The Story of Corroro
3.1. The Situation of Romani Buskers in Kraków: The Significance of the Late 1970s
3.2. The Case of Corroro: A Romani Virtuoso in Communistic Times
3.3. The Myth of a Disabled Genius
Epilogue: Post-1989 Reality
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Anna G. Piotrowska is Professor of Musicology at Jagiellonian University, Poland. She is author of several books including Gypsy Music in European Culture (2013) and From Gypsy to Bohemian (forthcoming). As of 2019, she is one of four Principal Investigators on the BESTROM project (Beyond Stereotypes: Cultural Exchanges and the Romani Contribution to European Spaces).
Summary
This book highlights the role of Romani musical presence in Central and Eastern Europe, especially from Krakow in the Communist period, and argues that music can and should be treated as one of the main points of relation between Roma and non-Roma. It discusses Romani performers and the complexity of their situation as conditioned by the political situations starkly affected by the Communist regime, and then by its fall. Against this backdrop, the book engages with musician Stefan Dymiter (known as Corroro) as the leader of his own street band: unwelcome in the public space by the authorities, merely tolerated by others, but admired by many passers-by and respected by his peer Romain musicians and international music stars. It emphasizes the role of Romani musicians in Krakow in shaping the soundscape of the city while also demonstrating their collective and individual strategies to adapt to the new circumstances in terms of the preferred performative techniques, repertoire, and overall lifestyle.
Foreword
Using the telling example of the city of Krakow, this book discusses the situation of Romani musicians in Communist Poland, accentuating their role in shaping the soundscape of the city
Additional text
Anna G. Piotrowska succeeds, with a brilliantly written study, to unfold the history of the Romani musicians of Kraków in a larger historical context by interrelating the Central and Eastern European developments of Roma music of cities like Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. The main focus is on Lovara and Carpathian Romani musicians in Kraków, the cultural capital of Poland. The insight analysis of various voices is underscored by theoretical reflections on minorities in the urban environment of the communist regime from the post-war period until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
