Talking about classical music: radio as public musicology
Book chapter
Dromey, C. 2018. Talking about classical music: radio as public musicology. in: Dromey, C. and Haferkorn, J. (ed.) The Classical Music Industry Abingdon, Oxon Routledge. pp. 183-261
Chapter title | Talking about classical music: radio as public musicology |
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Authors | Dromey, C. |
Abstract | In the spacious, public foyer of London’s Southbank Centre, Europe’s largest arts centre, a wall-sized advert trails the concerts of the venue’s four resident orchestras with the slogan ‘a classical music season exclusively for pretty much everyone.’ Orthodox marketing practice might well blanche at the use of ‘exclusively’ to describe classical music. Inclusivity and accessibility are the contemporary watchwords of a musical genre long dogged by cultural stereotypes, particularly surrounding (middle) class and (old) age. But the slogan’s deliberate oxymoron is surely self-aware and provocative, aiming to stop readers in their tracks, to play on classical music’s image problem, and ultimately, of course, to attract concertgoers. More broadly, then, the slogan underlines the importance of language to how classical music is perceived today, and the sensitivities that influence and regulate that association. As a marketing ploy, ‘exclusively’ here is both an invitation—the music these orchestras produce is for you, dear reader—and a qualified reminder of classical music’s elite credentials. Potential concertgoers are invited to imagine a special or premier event, not one that is cliquish or exclusory. How such language frames classical music is the central theme of this chapter. Language is used in myriad ways to contextualise and set expectations about classical music, but many such forms currently slip under musicology’s radar, despite being essential to how the genre is perceived: from programme notes, liner notes, and reviews that steer audiences’ experiences, to “bluffer’s” guides and the efforts of marketers to promote and demystify classical music. Consider also the rise of social media, society’s keen appropriation of classical music, and oral media such as podcasts and radio, and the work required to understand how perceptions of classical music are shaped in the broadest sense becomes clear. To appreciate this argument is also to begin to make the case for public musicology, a bidirectional process that recognises and attaches greater significance to public-musicological artefacts (such as liner notes and radio) and considers how musicology can make music relevant and useful in the public sphere. |
Research Group | Music group |
Page range | 183-261 |
Book title | The Classical Music Industry |
Editors | Dromey, C. and Haferkorn, J. |
Publisher | Routledge |
Place of publication | Abingdon, Oxon |
Series | Routledge Research in Creative and Cultural Industries Management |
ISBN | |
Hardcover | 9781138203693 |
Electronic | 9781315471099 |
Paperback | 9780367512262 |
Publication dates | |
05 Jun 2018 | |
Online | 12 Jun 2018 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 28 Apr 2016 |
Accepted | 31 Dec 2017 |
Output status | Published |
Accepted author manuscript | |
Copyright Statement | This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in The Classical Music Industry on 05/06/2018, available online: http://www.routledge.com/9781138203693 |
Additional information | Hardback: Published June 5, 2018 |
Web address (URL) | https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315471099/chapters/10.4324/9781315471099-14 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315471099-14 |
Language | English |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/86541
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