“You’re a woman and our orchestra just won’t have you”: the politics of otherness in the conducting profession

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Author(s)
Bartleet, Brydie-Leigh
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2008
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Show full item recordAbstract
In the musical profession of conducting, men have had the power to construct and cultivate customs and traditions and, as a result, the role of the conductor has been imbued with so-called 'masculine traits.' While the role has historically been subjected to continuous changes - linked to the rise and fall of musical institutions, the sociology of music, and the expansion of musical composition - its modern-day incarnation has remained deeply entrenched in nineteenth-century ideology and concepts of patriarchy. Its current position at the height of the orchestral hierarchy has kept it largely 'untouchable', and protected ...
View more >In the musical profession of conducting, men have had the power to construct and cultivate customs and traditions and, as a result, the role of the conductor has been imbued with so-called 'masculine traits.' While the role has historically been subjected to continuous changes - linked to the rise and fall of musical institutions, the sociology of music, and the expansion of musical composition - its modern-day incarnation has remained deeply entrenched in nineteenth-century ideology and concepts of patriarchy. Its current position at the height of the orchestral hierarchy has kept it largely 'untouchable', and protected from any drastic changes. While contemporary conductors have been allowed a degree of individual expression on the podium, they have also been expected to comply with the role's sacrosanct rituals and traditions in order to succeed.
View less >
View more >In the musical profession of conducting, men have had the power to construct and cultivate customs and traditions and, as a result, the role of the conductor has been imbued with so-called 'masculine traits.' While the role has historically been subjected to continuous changes - linked to the rise and fall of musical institutions, the sociology of music, and the expansion of musical composition - its modern-day incarnation has remained deeply entrenched in nineteenth-century ideology and concepts of patriarchy. Its current position at the height of the orchestral hierarchy has kept it largely 'untouchable', and protected from any drastic changes. While contemporary conductors have been allowed a degree of individual expression on the podium, they have also been expected to comply with the role's sacrosanct rituals and traditions in order to succeed.
View less >
Journal Title
Hecate: an interdisciplinary journal of women’s liberation
Volume
34
Issue
1
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2008 Hecate Press. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Performing Arts and Creative Writing
Literary Studies
Historical Studies