The great transformation of musical taste : concert programming from Haydn to Brahms / William Weber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weber, William, 1940-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Concerts--Europe--History--19th century.

Concerts.

Concerts--Europe--History--18th century.

Music--Social aspects--History--19th century.

Music.

Music--Social aspects--History--18th century.

Music--Social aspects.

History.

Europe.

Physical Description:

xv, 334 pages, 26 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Summary:

Grounded in knowledge of thousands of programs, this book examines how musical life in London, Paris, Leipzig, Vienna, Boston, and other cities underwent a fundamental transformation in relationship with movements in European political life. William Weber traces how musical taste evolved in European concert programs from 1750 to 1875, 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.

Contents:

Miscellany and collegiality, 1750-1800

Concepts and contexts

Variations on miscellany

Crisis and experiment, 1800-1848

Musical idealism and the crisis of the old order

The rise of the chamber music concert

Convention and experiment in benefit and virtuoso concerts

Toward classical repertory in orchestral concerts

Promenade concerts : rise of the "pops"

Founding a new order, 1848-1875

Classical music achieves hegemony

Vocal music for the general public

Epilogue : the state of the musical community in 1914.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-319) and index.

ISBN:

9780521882606

0521882605

OCLC:

172521702

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description