Maestro! Yrkesmusikers sociala praktik, relativa framgång och habitus

Sammendrag

Maestro! The social practice, relative success and habitus of professional musicians

In art music the Maestro is an important figure. The Maestro is an outstanding musician and teacher at one of the prestigious music colleges in Sweden. To be admitted as a student of a Maestro is to be granted access to the atrium of music. However, this is no guarantee of actually succeeding as a musician. Who is the Maestro? Which social practice is the Maestro part of, and which social practice is he/she maintaining? Who achieves a position as an outstanding musician, and what is required to hold such a position? The empirical material consists of three in-depth interviews with central musicians and teachers at the prestigious music colleges, which is used to reconstruct their positions and dispositions. The relative success of the musicians is understood in relation to the concept of habitus and in relation to a profession in transformation.

Keywords: Maestro, musicians, social practice, habitus, relative success