Freedom of expression : expression through music

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine the right to Freedom of Expression through a completely different angle than it is often being examined by scholars in general. Due to the broadness and the inclusion of many aspects under this right, it is chosen that its artistic point of view and specifically the Art of Music would be studied here. The pursuance of this aim, at first, the concept of "Freedom of Expression" is analysed as a simple phrase and the two terms in their literally meaning and then as a right under various declarations and conventions. In the closing of this chapter, is somehow introduced a general idea of the arts - as music is part of it-and of the artist and both position under the law. In the second chapter, as art falls under the domain of culture, the term itself and a few of its many interpretations are examined. The importance of cultural rights, to be also considered as basic Human Rights is highlighted and later on, a reference to the long debate of cultural diversity and the problems encountered understanding or realising it, takes place. Through this chapter the reader is prepared for the third one, in which there is an analysis of the position of Music among the arts, its form as expression and its place in society and culture, comparing the Western to the non-Western World. The last point of the specific chapter is a historical discourse on music censorship, which forms the foreground of the fourth and last chapter of the thesis. This chapter deals exclusively with the recent censorship on Wagner's music in Israel and the reason(s) behind the whole negation.