Performing Civility: International Competitions in Classical Music(Cambridge Cultural Social Studies)

Although competitions in classical music have a long history, the number of contests has risen dramatically since the Second World War, all of them aiming to launch young artists' careers. This is not the symptom of marketization that it might appear to be. Despite the establishment of an international governing body, competitions are plagued by rumors of corruption, and even the most mathematically sophisticated voting system cannot quell accusations that the best talent is overlooked. Why do musicians take part? Why do audiences care so much about who wins? Performing Civility is the first book to address these questions. In this groundbreaking study, Lisa McCormick draws from firsthand observations of contests in Europe and the US, and in-depth interviews with competitors, jurors and directors, as well as blog data from competition observers to argue that competitions have endured because they are not only about music, they are also about civility.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. The rise and near demise of the international music competition; 2. Competitions enter the civil sphere; 3. Narrating the competition; 4. The presentation of musical self; 5. Producing sound judgments; 6. Voicing opinions; Conclusion: what is the future of music competitions?; Appendix A. Selected competitions: facts and figures; Appendix B. Membership of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), 1957–2012; Appendix C. Putting the 'performance perspective' in perspective.

About the Author :
Lisa McCormick is a Lecturer in the department of sociology at the University of Edinburgh. She has published widely in the sociology of the arts and serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Cultural Sociology and Music and Art in Action. She is co-editor, with Ron Eyerman, of Myth, Meaning and Performance (2006). Her first article on music competitions, which appeared in Cultural Sociology in 2009, won the SAGE prize in excellence and/or innovation. She is also a Faculty Fellow with the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University, Connecticut and a Research Associate with the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath.

Review :
'Offering a peek into the fascinating world of international classical music competitions, Lisa McCormick's Performing Civility highlights the sociological tension between combat and civility. A rich, masterful study of performing, judging, and listening. Bravo!' Eviatar Zerubavel, Rutgers University, New Jersey 'Music competitions, as Lisa McCormick shows us in this very clever book, place music and civility in contradiction. This contradiction gets played out as judges, musicians and audiences are converted into publics engaged in debate over what should count as talent, beauty, and perfection. Performing Civility will be of interest to cultural sociologists, political scientists, musicians, and anyone who aspires to be a member of civil society, musically conceived.' Tia DeNora, Exeter University 'The author moves thoroughly through different kinds of data (newspaper articles; official competition documents; blogs; interviews with competitors, audience members, and jurors); in that sense the book is a real labor of love, highly detailed and a great entry point for those interested in the study of music competitions, the sociology of music, and the 'strong program' in cultural sociology.' Claudio E. Benzecry, American Journal of Sociology