Julian Fellowes’ The Gilded Age has struck a chord with audiences.
Not just for its sumptuous production values and incisive social commentary, but for the emotionally rich and historically nuanced way it uses music.
Set in 1880s New York during a time of seismic economic and cultural shifts, the series echoes some of the class tensions and inequalities of our own era. In a world divided between “old money” restraint and “new money” ambition, music becomes both an aesthetic pleasure and a deeply political tool—just as it was in the Gilded Age itself.
Like Fellowes' earlier creation Downton Abbey, The Gilded Age is acutely aware that cultural capital is as important as financial wealth. But where Downton dealt with a society already reckoning with its decline, The Gilded Age is set during a time of dazzling ascent—where opera boxes, debutante balls, and string quartets were as much declarations of power as bank accounts.
For the nouveau riche Russell family, music is a gateway to legitimacy. For old guard families like the van Rhijns, it’s a badge of cultural superiority. And for Black characters like Peggy Scott, it serves as a poignant marker of aspiration, expression, and exclusion.
What music is used in The Gilded Age?
Music in The Gilded Age does more than underscore emotion; it embodies the period’s ambitions, pretensions, and yearnings. This is a world where social battles are fought not only in drawing rooms and parlours, but in concert halls and salons.
The show’s meticulous use of period-accurate music—from well-known operatic arias to lesser-known chamber pieces—helps to paint an immersive soundscape of 1880s New York. Works by composers such as Brahms, Liszt, Verdi, and Dvořák give texture to the grand social events, while private piano performances and vocal recitals highlight the era’s emphasis on refinement, training, and performance as social currency.
One of the most powerful aspects of music in the show is its role in female agency. In an age when women’s public lives were heavily constrained, musical performance offered an acceptable arena for self-expression. Characters like Marian Brook and Aurora Fane use music as a way of asserting individuality, while the social stakes surrounding who performs what—and for whom—are frequently a proxy for larger questions about status, propriety, and self-worth.
Meanwhile, Bertha Russell’s efforts to establish herself in elite society often hinge on her ability to host successful musical events, including grand operatic soirées and charity concerts. These aren’t just entertainments; they are cultural battlegrounds.
Who composed the music for The Gilded Age?
Beyond its diegetic function, The Gilded Age’s music direction serves as a time-travelling device. Composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who also scored The Chronicles of Narnia, blends a restrained original score with curated selections of period-appropriate classical music.
Unlike many costume dramas that rely on sweeping strings to tug at heartstrings, The Gilded Age often opts for subtler musical cues that allow the architecture, costumes, and dialogue to breathe. Yet when the score does swell—particularly in moments of loss, betrayal, or triumph—it does so with an emotional intelligence that deepens rather than oversimplifies the storytelling.
What makes The Gilded Age musically exceptional is its fidelity to the real listening habits of the time. Unlike many modern portrayals of the 19th century, which tend to treat classical music as mere atmosphere, Fellowes’ series shows how music was entwined with education, social mobility, and cultural identity. Music was something people studied, discussed, competed over. A well-executed Mozart sonata could open doors; a poorly chosen aria could close them. The show reflects this reality with surprising fidelity and wit, making music not just an ornament but a dramatic engine.
Music in The Gilded Age is far more than mere backdrop
This attention to musical detail has resonated deeply with viewers, especially at a time when classical music’s relevance is often questioned. The Gilded Age reminds us that music once held enormous social power—and, perhaps more importantly, that it still can. It invites a renewed appreciation for the way music intersects with identity, aspiration, and class. In a culture increasingly dominated by visual spectacle, The Gilded Age insists on the power of sound, of performance, of human voices raised in harmony or dissonance.
In the end, music in The Gilded Age isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a character, a plot point, and a mirror of the times. It tells us who is trying to rise, who is clinging to the past, and who is determined to be heard. Like the show itself, it resonates long after the final note fades.
How can I watch The Gilded Age?
In the US, The GIlded Age is available on Max. In the UK, the show is available on Prime Video, Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
Pics: Getty Images
