Ezio Gamba

Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate two theses: 1) the conditions that bring to the application of the concept of plagiarism to some musical practices are to be found in the social and cultural context of the accusation of plagiarism itself, more than in real musical structures; 2) the celebration of the individual author of music doesn’t necessarily help in a real promotion of personal freedom, and a musical practice in which the individual author has small importance is not necessarily intended for some kind of repression. These two theses are illustrated by some reflections about Orwell’s 1984¸ about Afro-American musical traditions and about present-day pop music.

Ezio Gamba is Research Fellow in Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Eastern Piedmont “A. Avogadro” and teaches History of Contemporary Philosophy at the Theological University of Northern Italy – Turin Campus. He has written books and papers about Philosophy of Music, Philosophy of Religion, Hermann Cohen, Wilhelm Windelband and Michel Henry.