Higher, Faster, Louder: Representations of the International Music Competition

Abstract

Competitions have been a visible and controversial part of the classical music world for over a century, yet sociologists have strangely neglected to study their social significance.This article explores the competition's ongoing contest for legitimacy by considering the case of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.Through a discourse analysis of publicity materials and media coverage, I reconstruct the symbolic frameworks that guide the construction of the event and the interpretation of competitors' performances. I also trace the critical challenge to the idealized representations of the event, and decode the gender ideologies implied in commonly used metaphors. Demonstrating the centrality of meaning in musical production and reception, I aim to expose the limitations of the production perspective and Bourdieu's model of the artistic field, offering in their place a new approach based on social performance.

‘Controlled Disruptions’: How Ethnic Organizations Shape White Ethnic Symbolic Identities

“…short skirt, curly wigs, larger tiaras, arms to the side) was still negotiated. These findings reinforce similar findings about the contested meanings that were expressed in piano performances regarding the popular appeal of certain music as opposed to the excellence of the technique with which it is played (McCormick, 2009).…”

‘McDonald’s Music’ Versus ‘Serious Music’: How Production and Consumption Practices Help to Reproduce Class Inequality in the Classical Music Profession

“…There is a dearth of critical, empirical sociological inquiry into classical music practice (for some notable exceptions in other national contexts, see Baker, 2014;McCormick, 2009;Yoshihara, 2007;Wagner, 2012;. When we embarked on our separate research projects, we were surprised to find that there has been comparatively little research on classical music practice and even less of an emphasis on inequalities.…”

Dismantling of the star machine: New media and the shifting balance of performance and production in piano competitions

“…Van Cliburn Foundation itself has on occasion officially adopted Olympic symbolism in its promotional material, stage design, and presentation (McCormick, 2009). Moreover, the Olympics metaphor runs thickly through its discourse.…”