Résumé A l’égal d’autres professions qualifiées, l’accès des femmes à la pratique musicale comme professionnelle est récent et inachevé. En tant qu’artistes interprètes, en particulier comme instrumentistes, les musiciennes ont trouvé place dans les orchestres symphoniques permanents au cours de la seconde moitié du xx e siècle, sans toutefois investir tous les postes et tous les rôles : la division du travail reste forte et limite l’accès des femmes aux postes à responsabilité tels que solistes et chefs d’orchestre. L’article étudie ainsi la féminisation des professions d’orchestre en la confrontant aux résultats obtenus sur la place des femmes dans d’autres professions et à l’égard de l’emploi de manière générale. En examinant les étapes successives d’une féminisation d’ordre quantitatif puis les modalités de professionnalisation différenciées entre hommes et femmes, l’article interroge les rapports entre la féminisation et les craintes qu’elle suscite, et pose ainsi la question de la valorisation/dévalorisation de cette activité professionnelle. L’observation des interrelations entre la transformation des professions d’orchestre et leur féminisation, qui ne permet pas de conclure à une dégradation générale de l’activité, montre combien la perception de la situation varie en fonction de la position des acteurs engagés dans la pratique.
Drawing on fieldwork-a set of observations carried out over several years in the presence of conductors and musicians during rehearsals, concerts, and recording sessions, and in-depth interviews with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Laurence Equilbey, and Claire Gibault-this article seeks to answer, from a sociomusicological perspective, the following question: How is a musical interpretation constructed within a collective body made up of a conductor and musicians? The central hypothesis leading to observation of music-being-made is that it is a collective creative activity. This is what we shall discover in two stages: first, by examining how the authority of the conductor is negotiated in the course of such a collective effort; then, by setting forth various facets by which it is possible to comprehend a process of shared creativity. We shall then approach the role of relays in the orchestra, phenomena of self-regulation, spontaneous interventions of musicians, as well as the process of cooperation. At least, the observation shows how the conductor plays a crucial but not solitary role. This is indeed a collaborative sort of work in multiple dimensions, in which the participation and role of each player is incessantly renegotiated, and in which in fine the meaning given to the musical entity is knit together. Creativity abounds in the heart of initiatives borne by each of the participants and takes form in their synergy.
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