Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy Orchestrating Creativity The Musical Canon as a Regulative Concept Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Antwerp to be defended by Arne HERMAN Supervisors: Antwerp, 2020 Prof. Dr. Pascal Gielen Prof. Dr. Marlies De MuncK Acknowledgments Every researcher must acknowledge the fact that the merits of his intellectual labor are not entirely his. This dissertation is the result of a research trajectory in which every intermediate step has been carefully scrutinized, validated or criticized by others. First of all, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my supervisors prof. dr. Pascal Gielen and prof. dr. Marlies De Munck. Through their empirical and theoretical complementarity, they have provided the dialectical space within which my cognitive creativity could thrive, and I am not too proud to admit that they should be credited for some of my finest ideas. Many thanks to the representatives of cultural organizations whom I had the privilege to meet, in particular my conversation partners with Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Casco Phil, deSingel, BOZAR, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouworkest, Splendor, London Symphony Orchestra and Aurora Orchestra. Not only have they supplied invaluable information for this research, they have also convinced me that we are not fighting for a lost cause. Also, a word of gratitude to my colleagues of the Culture Commons Quest Office (Walter, Louis, Thijs, Hanka, Giuliana, Lara and Maria Francesca), and to those teachers and mentors (in particular Pieter Bergé, Edmond Saveniers, Luc Joosten and Eddy Vanoosthuyse) who have, often without their knowledge, always been an inspiration to me. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the invaluable help of my parents and, most of all, the support of my fiancée Ellen, who has patiently witnessed, registered and interpreted every up and down of this trajectory like the world’s most reliable seismograph. This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen, FWO) and its Odysseus research program. 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 9 CHAPTER 1 - THE CRISIS OF THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 19 1.1 Introducing the symphony orchestra 19 1.1.1 Defining the orchestra 19 1.1.2 What crisis? 20 1.2 The impact of legitimacy pressures 23 1.2.1 Financial precariousness of the orchestra 24 1.2.2 The adoption of a dominant logic 26 1.3 Pragmatized Aesthetics 29 1.3.1 Musical programming 29 1.3.1.1 The compromise of the musical canon 29 1.3.1.2 Redefining the orchestra 31 1.3.2 The hybridization of the aesthetic 32 1.4 The sustainable symphony orchestra 34 1.4.1 Towards aesthetic sustainability 34 1.4.2 Invitation for research 35 CHAPTER 2 - THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 39 2.1 A brief history of the orchestra 39 2.2 The orchestra and its canon 46 2.2.1 The emancipation of music 46 2.2.1.1 The shift in politics 47 2.2.1.2 The shift in aesthetics 48 2.2.2 Musical politics 51 2.2.3 The emergence of a canon 53 2.2.3.1 The rise of the canon in Europe 54 2.2.3.2 The rise of the canon in the United States 55 2.3 The aesthetic authority of the canon 59 2 CHAPTER 3 – NARRATING THE MUSICAL CANON 63 3.1 The contemporary canon debate 65 3.1.1 A polarized discussion 66 3.1.2 Aesthetic relativism 70 3.2 The regulative canon-concept 73 3.2.1 The museum metaphor 73 3.2.2 Open and closed concepts 76 3.2.3 The stagnation of the canon 82 3.2.3.1 Historical consciousness: New as Norm 82 3.2.3.2 The Tonality Enigma 85 3.2.3.3 Institutional conservatism 87 3.2.3.4 The canon recognized as a regulative concept 89 3.3 The relation between the canon and its narratives 92 3.3.1 Canonization as narratological puzzle-solving 92 3.3.2 The normative impact of the musical canon 94 CHAPTER 4 – CANON IN CONTEXT: A CASE STUDY APPROACH 101 4.1 Research setup and methodology 102 4.1.1 Research setup 102 4.1.2 Methodology 105 4.2 A comparative case study 109 4.2.1 Cases at a glance 109 4.2.1.1 Representative cases 110 4.2.1.2 Alternative cases 117 4.2.2 Comparing organizational models 124 4.2.2.1 Organizational parameters 124 4.2.2.2 Business model alignment 129 4.2.2.3 Design principles of alternative business models 138 4.2.3 Comparing musical programming 142 4.2.3.1 Factors impacting programming 142 4.2.3.2 Programming policies 145 4.2.3.3 Programming tendencies 162 4.2.4 Closing remarks 170 3 CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION: THE MUSICAL CANON AS A REGULATIVE CONCEPT 173 5.1 Empirical propositions: challenging the dominant logic 174 5.2 Theoretical proposition: the narratives of the musical canon 179 5.2 Research Question: the sustainable symphony orchestra 186 5.4 Closing words 192 EPILOGUE - FINAL REFLECTIONS ON THE MUSICAL CANON 195 Interpretation and the ideal of Werktreue 196 The Imaginary Museum revisited 201 REFERENCES 205 APPENDIX A: METHODOLOGY 225 Legitimation and aim of the case study approach 225 Case selection 225 Data collection procedures 228 Data analysis procedures 229 Case report format 232 Methodological shortcomings 234 APPENDIX B: INDIVIDUAL CASE REPORTS 237 1. Antwerp Symphony Orchestra 237 Introduction 237 A brief history of Antwerp Symphony Orchestra 239 A vagrant existence 239 Crisis and turmoil 240 A vibrant orchestra for a vibrant city 241 Recent developments in the ASO 242 Artistic mission 242 Organizational model 249 Programming policy of the ASO 250 Legitimacy: the ASO’s view on being an Art Institution of the Flemish Community 251 Division of the repertoire 253 Factors impacting programming trends in the ASO 254 4 Diversification formulas in the ASO 255 Programming trends 258 Discussion 263 2. Casco Phil 265 Introduction 265 Foundational principles of Casco Phil 267 Novelty in the field 267 Experimentation vs. low threshold 268 Organizational model 269 Format of Casco Phil 269 Budget of Casco Phil 270 Motivation of Casco Phil’s musicians 272 Programming policy of Casco Phil 273 Division of the repertoire 273 Factors impacting programming 274 Programming formulas 276 Programming trends 279 Discussion 282 3. Royal Concertgebouworkest 287 Introduction 287 A brief history of the RCO 289 A forced marriage between the orchestra and the concert hall 289 The Nutcracker incident 291 Commercialization 294 Recent developments in the RCO 295 Mission statement 295 Organizational form 298 Financial model 300 Challenges for the RCO 302 Programming policy of the RCO 304 Factors impacting programming 306 Division of the repertoire in concert series 308 Development formulas 310 Broadening formulas 313 Programming trends 316 Discussion 322 4. Splendor 325 Introduction 325 The birth of Splendor 327 Artistic mission 327 Realization 328 Organizational model 329 5 Programming policy of Splendor 332 Programming philosophy 332 Concert Formats 333 Outreach and education 334 Repertoire development 335 Discussion 336 5. London Symphony Orchestra 341 Introduction 341 A brief history of the LSO 342 The birth of the LSO: competition and pragmatism 343 LSO and Arts Council: highs and lows 345 Recent developments in the LSO 347 The LSO Today 348 Artistic Mission 349 Governance structure 350 Programming policy of the LSO 354 Programming philosophy 354 Factors impacting programming 355 Repertoire diversification: LSO Discovery 357 Programming trends 362 Discussion 368 6. Aurora Orchestra 371 Introduction 371 The history of Aurora Orchestra 372 Aurora Orchestra today 374 Mission statement and core values 374 Organizational model 376 Financial model 379 Programming policy of Aurora Orchestra 381 Programming philosophy 382 Factors impacting programming 382 Development formulas 383 Broadening formulas 385 Performance series 385 Programming trends 386 Discussion 391 NEDERLANDSE SAMENVATTING 395 6 7 8 Introduction Music is often said to be a universal language. Many discussions on the cultural significance of music seem to be underpinned by this widely shared consensus. But although we implicitly assume that music is capable of carrying and transferring meaning, there is hardly any consensus over the kind of meaning it transfers, where it comes from and on what basis it could be called universal. Furthermore, despite this claim on universality, it is common knowledge that music not only transcends cultural boundaries but also stipulates them. Clearly, if music is indeed a language, it is a language in which different songs can be sung. For a proper understanding of what is being sung, it seems critical to first ask ourselves: who is singing? This dissertation undertakes a quest towards a sustainable musical culture, in which musical culture is explicitly portrayed as an aesthetic practice taking place in a concrete historically situated environment. Throughout this dissertation, I will argue that aesthetic forms are inseparably tied to a variety of actors and factors (ranging from individuals and institutions to historical occurrences and policy shifts), that together constitute a very complex but intelligible environment that stands in a structural relation to these aesthetic forms. Questions of sustainability, therefore, must take this relation into account. In a way, this amounts to little more than pushing at an open door. In our daily lives, we continue to ascribe to music a moving force that cannot be deduced from music’s own formal characteristics, and one that cannot be reduced to cultural convention. As listeners, we constantly navigate in the space between what music is as an autonomous and delineated aesthetic entity, and what music is within a certain specific context.