Croatian Musicological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to
digitize, preserve and extend access to International Review of the
Aesthetics and Sociology of Music.http://www.jstor.orgMass Culture
and the Reshaping of European Musical Taste, 1770-1870 Author(s):
Wiliam Weber Source:International Review of the Aesthetics and
Sociology of Music, Vol. 25, No. 1/2 (Jun. - Dec., 1994), pp.
175-190Published by:Croatian Musicological SocietyStable
URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/836942Accessed: 14-08-2015 01:10
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content downloaded from 64.69.157.17 on Fri, 14 Aug 2015 01:10:32
UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsW. WEBER,
MASSCULTUREAND EUROPEANMUSICAL TASTE, IRAMDA 25/1,2 (1994)
175-190175 MASSCULTURE ANDTHE RESHAPING OF EUROPEANMUSICAL TASTE,
1770-1870"* WILIAMWEBER California State University, Long Beach,
U.S.A. UDC:78.073"17/18" Original Scientific Paper
Izvorniznanstveni6lanak First published in: /Prvi put objavljeno u:
InternationalReview of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music,
Vol.VIII,No. 1, 1977 Abstract -Resuie' Theriseofthemaster composers
- Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, later Handeland J. S. Bach, and finally
Schubert, Weber,Schumann, and oth- ers -to musical sainthood took
place during the 1850's and1860's. It can be regarded as an early,
butcleverand profit-seeking formofmass cul- ture,
whoseevolutioncanbetraced in Europe fromabout1770 to1870. Inthisthe
growth of the publishingindustry is discussed, as the main impetus
behindthecommercial development ofthemusicalworldin London,Paris,
Vienna, and Leipzig. Themain large-scale concerts which
appearedduring themiddleofthe19th century brought a new impersonal
socialstruc- turetolife, andthe classical repertoire ofthese
concerts reshapedEuropean musicaltaste since then bypolarizing
valuesforentertainment (>>popularclassicalRoll over,
Beethoven< goes that song -sincecommercial exploi-
tationofthemasterswasa major startingpoint ofthe modem
musicbusiness. In this lecture I am going to trace the evolutionof
massculture in European musicallifefromabout1770 to1870
andshowhowit culminatedintheriseof theclassicalmasters.I willfirst
discussthe growth ofthe publishingindustry, the force which
provided the main impetus behindthe commercial development
ofthemusicalworld.The argument willbemadethatthe industry hadthe
dynamics ofmassculturefromthestartofthenineteenth century. I
willthen sketchoutthemain large-scale concertswhich appearedduring
themiddleof the century and brought a new impersonal social
structure to concert life. Finally, Iwillshowhowtheclassical
repertoire oftheseconcerts reshapedEuropean musicaltaste
bypolarizing valuesforentertainmentandserious artistry. The
resultingduality of >popular< and >>classical<
musichas sincethen beenthe key- stoneofmusicalmassculture. I
willalso beg off from doing several other things. I willnot try to
investigate the relations betweenmassculture and
macrocosmicdimensionsof society such
asclassstructureorindustrialization.Most important of all, I
willnothazard any conclusionsaboutits impact onhowmusicwaswritten.
Myscopegeo- 1 Monde musical, April 30,1846, pp. 2-3. 2
TheGesellschaftder MusikfreundeinViennahasan
extensivecollectionofsuchmemorabilia: seeRichard vonPERGER and
Robert HIRSCHFELD, Geschichte der k. k. Gesellschaft der
Musikfreunde, Vienna 1912, Zusatz-Band, pp. 85-154. This content
downloaded from 64.69.157.17 on Fri, 14 Aug 2015 01:10:32 UTCAll
use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsW. WEBER, MASSCULTUREAND
EUROPEANMUSICALTASTE,IRAMDA25/1,2 (1994) 175-190177 graphically
willbebroad butwillbelimited primarily tothethree major Euro-
peancapitals - London,Paris, andVienna-andto Leipzig, theGerman
city most prominent in nineteenth-century musicallife.I
willalsonotdelveintothe differences among them.
Inthemusicalfieldtheterm>mass culture< can bedefinedina
relatively concrete manner. It shouldbe conceivedas performance or
dissemination of music whichdoesnotrest uponpersonalrelationships
betweenmusiciansandthe pu- blic and for which obtaining - indeed,
manipulating -a wide public is a primary goal. This is not just a
matter of brute numbersof peoplebuying musicor going
toconcerts.Whathascharacterizedmusicalmassculture primarily hasbeen
rather the impersonality of relationships betweenlistenersand
performers and the active exploitation of a broad public by the
musicbusiness.To be sure, neither
thesizeofaudiencesnorthecirculationofsheetmusic during
thenineteenth century compares at all closely to contemporary
levels, and early marketing tech- niquesmay seemcrude by comparison
withthose usedfor Elton John or Leonard Bernstein. But the
impersonality ofconcert eventsandthe manipulative devices ofthe
publishingindustry hadmuchthesamebasic qualities thenasnow.Be-
causeofthese dynamics, the appearance of 1,000 insteadof300 people
at some concertsandthe publication
oftensofthousandsinsteadofseveralhundred new pieces ofmusic
peryearchanged thesocialstructureofmusicallifefun- damentally.3
Now, intheold society, intheworldwehave lost, music-making revolved
aroundone-to-one personalrelationships. Musicwaswhatone person
didfor another. There werenoformalinstitutionswhere people
wentforthe objective, impersonalpurpose of simplyhearing music.
People dancedandcourtedto music, passed thetime making music,
andcelebratedwithmusic.Mostofthe ceremonialoccasions accompaniedby
musicwere directly associatedwith spe-
cificeventsinindividuals'lives- marriages, funerals, namedays,
saints days. Moreover, the relationship oftencountedfor far
morethan the musicitself. Even inthehouseholdsofthe upper classesof
society musicianswerenotadiscrete profession butrather simply those
people who, for onereasonor another, sang or played
forthosearoundthem.Inashrewd study of English musiciansof
thelatesixteenth century, Walter Woodfillhasshownthat few
performers were formal, residentretainers butrather were people
froma wide range of occupa- tionswhomademusicfor
othersandobtainedan unspecific reward, somekind of
personalgratuity, andoften performed otherservicesforthesamehouse-
holds.4 Performers in the large-scale ensemblesofthe
eighteenthcentury almost 3 Thetermhasnotbeen applied at all
intensively tothe history of European classicalmusic thusfar.
Themostusefulworksonthe history ofconcertswhichat leastbear upon
the subject are the following:Percy M. YOUNG, The Concert
Tradition, London 1965; Arthur LOESSER,Men, Women and Pianos,
NewYork 1954; andHans ENGEL, Musik und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1960.
4Walter WOODFILL, Musicians in English Society, Princeton 1953, pp.
59-62. This content downloaded from 64.69.157.17 on Fri, 14 Aug
2015 01:10:32 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions178W.
WEBER, MASSCULTUREAND EUROPEANMUSICAL TASTE, IRAMDA 25/1,2 (1994)
175-190 always had other functionsin the household; a list of the
membersof one German Hofkapelle in1783 cited, among others, two
porters, one cupbearer, twoman- servantsandthe chaplain.5
Relationships between performers andtheir patrons weretherefore
thecen- tral sourceofsocialorderinmusicallife.The key tosuccessfor
musicianswas not expanding the numberof suchties but rather
maintaining themwithcareful diplomacy inthe smallgroup
socialcontextofthetime.The frequency of vaga- bondageamong low-
(and insomecasesnotso low-)ranking musiciansmade thisconcern
important toall concerned; reputationsdepended asmuch upon simple
trustfulnessas upon musical ability.6 Theriseof public concerts
during the18th centurychanged thenatureof these
relationshipssurprisingly little.Themost prominentearly
concertswere performancesby dedicatedamateurs -Kennerund Liebhaber,
as they werecalled inGerman -assisted by musiciansof usuallygreater
ability froma lowersocial standing wholivedin part byteaching and
performing in bourgeois andaris- tocratichomes.The people
whowenttotheseeventswhere accordingly the friendsandrelativesofthe
performers, andmembersofthelocal community. Suchconcertsthusrested
upon astructureof personalrelationships andthe complementary
needsofthedifferentkindsof participants. Their highlyper-
sonalizedcharacter limitedtheir growth into large-scale or
professional institu- tions.Whenthatdid happen,
asintheorchestraoftheGesellschaftder Musikfreundeof Vienna after
the Revolutionof 1848, it came onlythrough force-
fulandcontroversialactions byprofessionals.7 Even
commercially-oriented concerts sponsoredby individualmusicians
hadsuchafabric of relationships. To be sure, such concertgivers
nowactedin a enterpreneurial capacity, since they put on eventsfor
more than onehousehold and charged afeefor
admission.Anelementofcommercial objectivitythereby enteredintothe
relationships withtheir patrons. But theseconcertsdidnot have an
impersonal public, for they remained dependentupon domestic
music-making untilafter the middleofthe nineteenth century. The
growth ofamateurmusical trainingduring the eighteenthcentury
hadmade teaching in bourgeois and aristocratic homesa broad, highly
lucrative market and provided a stable source
ofincomefromwhichmusicianscouldlaunchcareersas publicperformers.
These events, usually called>Academies>Benefit
Concerts>Herkunft undSozialstatusdes h6fischen Orchestermusikers
im18. und friihen 19. Jahrhundert in DeutschlandZursozialen
Stellung des StadtmusikantenA Sketch ofthe History ofMusic
Printing>1951: Pop Musicat the CrossroadsCreating theLP
RecordOrpheon< instructional program in elementary
schoolsundermu- nicipal sanctionand shortly after extendedit to
adultclasses.The program drew a predominantly artisanal
clientelederivedin large part from traditionaltavern singinggroups,
and someof the studentsthemselvesbecame professional choral
directors. Wilhem'ssuccessors expanded the >Orphdon< intoa
massivenational choral program
whichclimaxeditsfirstdecadein1859withaconcertatthe
Palaisdel'Industrieinwhichthe press claimed, undoubtedly withsome
exag- geration, that 6,000 singers
from204societiesfromalloverFrance performed beforeacrowdof 40,000
people.24 That certainly wasmassculture. Throughout
theconcertsofthe1850's one canfeela lusting for
identificationwiththemassofthe population, adesireto celebratethe
emerging urban-industrialcivilizationwitha grandthronging to-
gether in publicplaces. Theminutesofthe directing
committeeoftheSacred Harmonic Society reveal complaints that
singers balkedat attending rehearsals regularly and only wantedto
appear at the big concerts. That doesnot just show of London,
British Museum, May 22, 1831 andMarch 11, 1832 (refusals of
permission for exchange of tickets),January 19, 1834 and August 10,
1842 (removal ofthe rule). For Leipzig, see Programs
oftheGewandhaus Orchestra, Museum der Geschichte der Stadt Leipzig,
November 30, 1822 (warning tosubscribersnotto exchangetickets) and
February 13, 1837 (removal ofthe rule). TheParisian Societe des
Concerts duConservatoire carefully avoidedtheruleatits inception in
1828, asdidthe ViennaPhilharmonicOrchestra in1842
andtheLondonMusicalUnionin1845. 23 WEBER, op. cit., pp.100-108. 24
AlbertLAVIGNAC, ed.,>>'Orphionyou don'thavetoknow much,
butit'sniceif you do(.Mozartsaidasmuchinalettertohisfatherin1782
whenhe describeda set of concerti he was writing as >a happy
mediumbetween whatistoo easy andtoodifficult... here and there are
things whichconnoisseurs can appreciate, butI haveseento it that
thoseless knowledgeable mustalsobe pleased without
knowingwhy>MusicintheCultureofthe Renaissancebrilliantbut not
difficult>serious< repertoire. Most concertgoers not only
didnotthink you neededto knowmuchaboutthe music; they
didnoteventhinkit wasniceif you did.To most people at concerts,
said a Parisian journalist in 1833, >>musical feeling, taste,
the study of the great masters, thescienceof composition
aredissonancestotheirearsthat you wouldbeill advisedto pronounce
before themindividual concert-givers now scarcely dare any
longerpresent themselvestothe public without Beethoven, Chopin,
orSchu- mannIt isnot longsince weendeavoredtoshowwhata change
hastaken place here during thelastten years