Katrine Cady asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

I love reading your passages about the balls at Gregor's residence. I imagine myself there, observing all my favorite characters. I'm unsure about the music. Is it classical? For instance, what do you hear in your head when they are participating in a mirror dance?

Lois McMaster Bujold Hm. In the very formal venue of the Residence, classical, waltz 'n schmaltz, rather military march-ish when they want to liven the dance up. Think Russian folk dances, also. (Interesting speculation what Gregor listens to when by himself, on his Imperial headphones, but I bet it's not more of that.)

What Barrayaran popular music generally consists of, post-Time-of-Isolation, is another question, with a much more varied answer, especially over a century of time. Marching bands not-military are a thing mentioned, and competitions for same, leading to really complicated drills (and trills.) We've seen folk music by actual folk, up in the Dendarii Mountains, at least. Plus all those galactic influences and fads pouring in, mixing things up. I expect the music scene on Barrayar is very lively and much debated/argued-about. Puts me in mind of a character mentioned in, iirc, the Liavek fantasies, as a celebrated theater critic and duelist...

Ta, L.

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