Clarendon Paperbacks
2 total works
The Music Profession in Britain Since the Eighteenth-century
by Cyril Ehrlich
Published 1 March 1986
This is the first history of an occupational group that aspired to, but failed to achieve, the status of a liberal profession. The book explains the vigorous expansion of the music profession in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as the widespread demand for lessons and the revolution in commercialized entertainment created new employment opportunities, and follows the profession through to its subsequent decline, as changing leisure patterns, "talkies," and relentless improvements in recording technologies displaced both teachers and performers. This wideranging study also discusses the origins of musicians' unions and professional associations, and the proliferation of conservatories and diplomas that persist right up to the present day.
For more than a century the piano occupied a dominant place in music and society. Professor Ehrlich follows its fascinating history from the fortepiano of Mozart's time, through the Victorians' `household orchestra and god', to the most sophisticated modern products of the Japanese manufacturers. His protagonists include barnstorming virtuosi, fashionable ladies and aspiring clerks, the great makers and the back-street `garrett-masters', distinguished musicians, and
hire-purchase touts. Originally published in 1976 by Dent, this book has now been updated and revised by the author in the light of developments of recent years.
hire-purchase touts. Originally published in 1976 by Dent, this book has now been updated and revised by the author in the light of developments of recent years.