This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Roose, H. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Many-Voiced or Unisono?

An Inquiry into Motives for Attendance and Aesthetic Dispositions of the Audience Attending Classical Concerts

Department of Sociology, Ghent University, Belgium, henk.roose{at}ugent.be

In this article, I analyse empirically whether the audience attending classical concerts can be subdivided into three segments — following the lead of Howard Becker's Art Worlds (1984). Moreover, I investigate how far these groups have different aesthetic dispositions towards classical music. Based on an extensive audience survey in five institutions staging both symphonic and chamber music in Flanders, Belgium (2005), three groups are distinguished based on the frequency of attendance: the passers-by, the interested participants and the inner circle. It is found that these segments differ in socio-demographic composition, have different motives for attendance and have different aesthetic dispositions towards classical music. Yet, all segments share the wish to be emotionally moved and affected by music. Implications for cultural policy and marketing the arts are discussed.

Key Words: aesthetic dispositions • arts participation • audience research • audience segmentation • classical music • marketing the arts • visitor studies

Acta Sociologica, Vol. 51, No. 3, 237-253 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0001699308094168


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?