Abstract: The European tradition of what became known as "classical" music is unique among Western arts because it resisted influences from non-Western civilisations. In the contemporary world, both the European canon of musical masterpieces and the social setting of western musical life have been exported to many different parts of the world with few changes. This tradition of European music-making should not obscure the global contexts in which music evolved, in particular from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. This article outlines several of these contexts, including exoticism, colonial rule, the mobility of musicians, the impact of new reproductive technologies, and the concept of "world music".