The Great Transformation of Musical Taste
Concert Programming from Haydn to Brahms
Published on 3. December 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
380 pages
978-0-521-12423-2 (ISBN)
Description
Grounded in knowledge of thousands of programs, this book examines how musical life in London, Leipzig, Vienna, Boston, and other cities underwent a fundamental transformation in relationship with movements in European politics. William Weber traces how musical taste evolved in European concert programs from 1750 to 1870, as separate worlds arose around classical music and popular songs. In 1780 a typical program accommodated a variety of tastes through a patterned 'miscellany' of genres, held together by diplomatic musicians. This framework began weakening around 1800 as new kinds of music appeared, from string quartets to quadrilles to ballads, which could not easily coexist on the same programs. Utopian ideas and extravagant experiments influenced programming as ideological battles were fought over who should govern musical taste. More than a hundred illustrations or transcriptions of programs enable readers to follow Weber's analysis in detail.
Reviews / Votes
Review of the hardback: 'Wonderful book for 'classical' music lovers ... This book gets good reviews elsewhere and for good reason: it is fascinating and informative. A must-have.' E. Douglas Jensen, www.amazon.com 'If you have ever wondered why concert programs in the modern world are constructed as they are, Weber's fascinating book will help you understand ... Weber draws his data from a vast range of contemporary programs, painstakingly accumulated, many reproduced in facsimiles, others summarized.' Philip Gossett, Common Knowledge 'This fascinating window into the concert world that William Weber has provided will make The Great Transformation of Musical Taste essential reading for anyone interested in nineteenth-century music and concert life.' Journal of Musicological ResearchMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
616 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-12423-2 (9780521124232)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
William Weber is Professor of History at California State University, Long Beach.
Content
Introduction; Part I. Miscellany and Collegiality, 1750-1800: 1. Concepts and contexts; 2. Variations on miscellany; Part II. Crisis and Experiment, 1800-48: 3. Musical idealism and the crisis of the old order; 4. The rise of the chamber-music concert; 5. Convention and experiment in benefit and virtuoso concerts; 6. Toward classical-music orchestral concerts; 7. Promenade concerts: rise of the 'pops'; Part III. Founding a New Order, 1848-75: 8. Classical music achieves hegemony; 9. Vocal music for the general public; 10. Epilogue: state of the musical community in 1914.