Abstract
The professional lives of musicians are typically theorized from the production perspective, an approach which foregrounds market-related phenomena such as precariousness or (self-)entrepreneurship at the expense of nonmarket-oriented aspects of occupational activity. By drawing on the conceptual tools of the performance perspective as applied to sociology of music [McCormick, L. (2006). “Music as Social Performance.” In R. Eyerman & L. McCormick (Eds.), Myth, Meaning, and Performance: Toward a New Cultural Sociology of the Arts (pp. 121–144). Paradigm], this chapter explores the role of the saron consāto [salon concert] in legitimating the vocational identities of Japanese musicians performing European classical music in Japan. The analysis demonstrates how musicians see these events as opportunities to transcend their twofold social marginalization as precarious entertainers and “inauthentic” classical instrumentalists. I argue that musicians mostly succeed in conveying their desired artistic identity through their musical performance, but this does little to subvert the powerful discourse of “authenticity” in classical music which marginalizes them.
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Notes
- 1.
In Japanese, saron consāto denotes “salon concert” and is used for both plural and singular forms. I will use this term and its English translation interchangeably throughout the text. In the interviews, saron consāto were frequently compared to European musical salons. As I explain in more depth later in the chapter, musical salons were semiprivate concerts in the nineteenth century in the space of a private salon. Initially, they were hosted by members of the royal family and aristocrats; later, they were held by the wealthy bourgeoisie (Biba, 1979; DeNora, 1991). One reason why aristocrats took an active interest in musical patronage was to use these events to maintain and communicate their distinct social position (DeNora, 1991). Without studying the musical salons, one cannot fully grasp the musical life in Vienna, Paris, and other European cultural capitals.
- 2.
Frederickson and Rooney’s (1990) classification of classical musicians as semi-professional helps to explain the centrality of recognition to their professional identity. The authors claim that “classical musician” can at best be classified as a “semi-profession” because: “(1) musicians possess a body of specialized knowledge and techniques, but they are not required to complete a standardized course of training; (2) they have failed to assert a legal monopoly over the field of performance through required testing and licensing of graduates; and (3) they have limited autonomy: they must closely coordinate their playing under the direction of a conductor, and the function of their performance is often controlled by the client” (Frederickson & Rooney, 1990, p. 199).
- 3.
The racialized discourse concerning Japanese musicians is extended to Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and other people of Asian descent who, in Europe, are grouped together and called “Asians” (Yang, 2007; Wang, 2014). If in this section I refer to “Asians,” it is to stress that discriminatory practices apply to a larger group of people and not to make an ontological argument for the existence of such ethnic, racial, or even “continental” category.
- 4.
A Schubertiade denotes a practice and a term invented by Franz Schubert along with Franz von Schober. Members of the “Schubert circle,” a group formed by the composer and his friend, gathered regularly in the evening to listen to Schubert’s music, “whether songs, four-hand piano music, or dances, with the first Schubertiade taking place on 26 January 1821” (Gingerich, 2014, p. 70). Over the winter months in 1822–1823, these events were organized once a week at the Schober residence. Aside from listening to music, Schubertiades also involved entertainments such as games and meals. The “Schubert circle” got together for other occasions as well. They held regular meetings for reading and discussing dramas and other forms of literature. They also attended less formal get-togethers “in the afternoon at coffee houses, and in the evening in a designated pub (Stammlokal)” (Gingerich, 2014, p. 70).
- 5.
Further, the very dichotomy that separates private and public spaces as domains of either female or male activity can be misleading in that it ignores the fact that “events in domestic circumstances affect political structures and institutions and vice versa, and that the role occupied by one element in a culture is shaped and defined by the roles of others” (Brooks, 1993, p. 419).
- 6.
A spa resort in Japan with hot springs.
- 7.
Some argue that the popularity of Beyer’s piano teaching method is to blame for producing Japanese pianists who are considered technically skilled, but whose performances are thought to be devoid of musical color. This method, which is named after its creator Ferdinand Beyer (1803–1863), stresses technical skills when training pianists (Ando, 2010, p. 13). That said, the reputation of Japanese pianists emphasizing technique over expression may also be shaped by the critical reception of the Suzuki method. It was developed by Suzuki Shinichi (1898–1998) as a technique of teaching violin to children, but currently it is also used to teach other instruments, including piano. Modeled after the way children learn their mother tongue, this method consists of memorizing simple music pieces, which children then play together in groups without scores. Critics oppose Suzuki’s method on the grounds that it is a regime of imitation and repetition, which encourages robotic, mechanical skills and undermines the development of musical individuality and the comprehension of the music being played (Yoshihara, 2007, p. 43–44).
- 8.
Music competitions shape the social imaginary by reproducing Western hegemony in classical music. Participants compete with each other by showing their competence in playing a Western repertoire according to the Western tradition of a specific music technique, be it for piano, violin, conducting, singing, or other disciplines (McCormick, 2009).
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Kowalczyk, B.M. (2022). Saron Consāto, Artistic Identity, and European Classical Music in Japan. In: McCormick, L. (eds) The Cultural Sociology of Art and Music. Cultural Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11420-5_11
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