Original scientific paper
Changes in Status and Role-Play: The Musician at the End of the Eighteenth Century
Richard A. Carlton
; Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
Much has been made of the troubled demise of Mozart and Beethoven, by contrast with the more serene longevity of "Papa Haydn". This follows from the perspective of the Romantic period: the struggling, unappreciated, youthful genius! Yet, conflict such as that between Mozart and the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg is more than the opposition of a proud patriarch toward a headstrong, arrogant employee. At the end of the Eighteenth Century, music was moving from the Church and the Court to the salons and new concert halls of a wealthy urban middle class of professionals and merchants. The position of the musician was changing rapidly: the statuses of noble patron and householdservant musician were no longer legitimated by the new norms of individualism and emancipation. This was the age of revolution, as in France and North America. The rout of aristocratic privilege and the drive to a new system of achieved rather than ascribed status propelled the musician toward a new position to which society was not yet fully adjusted. Conflicts and career failure were functions of change in the social system rather than shortcomings of personalities.
This discussion carefully defines status and role-theory terms before proceeding with a comparison of brief case-studies: Hayden in contrast with his pupils Mozart and Beethoven. Music is seen to evolve from occasional presentation to the building up of a published repertory for stable groups of performers. The musician plays a new role!
Keywords
Social status; Role-Play; Haydn; Mozart; Beethoven; Patron; Servant musician
Hrčak ID:
32636
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2006.
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