The Social Constructions of Musical Listening: Audience Etiquette from the Nineteenth Century to Today

Author

• Catherine Elise Balsamo

Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Department

Music

Committee Chair

Ewelina Boczkowska

Committee Chair

Elisabeth Blatchford

Committee Member

Daryn Zubke

Committee Member

Josef Hanson

Committee Member

Michelle Vigneau

Abstract

Audiences and performers of the twenty-first century are primarily of the belief that the cultural norms of the concert hall are rules of etiquette that have been codified for centuries when they are newer than we think. Researchers have studied the background of audience behavioral trends to try to trace back to when the rules of audience etiquette became commonplace, with some scholars citing the French Revolution as a primary catalyst and others tying it to nineteenth and twentieth century conductor “cults.” By analyzing primary source material and synthesizing existing research on cultural shifts in the Western concert hall, I propose various potential causes for why audiences act the way they do in 2026. These causes are separated into three eras: taming audiences in the nineteenth century, abandoning audiences in the twentieth century, and rebuilding audiences in the twenty-first century. Each of the three eras I will discuss encompass the audience reactions, performer responses, and external factors that brought concert hall etiquette to where it is today. In analyzing these areas of audience relationships with performers, I found data to suggest the future of concert hall culture and how to maintain audience retention rates. I recommend the solution of a relaxation of the rules of etiquette that appeals to mass cultural audiences rather than treating the classical music art form as an elite genre that must be understood to be enjoyed. My findings indicate that modern audiences respond positively towards socialization and against sacralization in the modern Western concert hall.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.”

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

Recommended Citation

Balsamo, Catherine Elise, "The Social Constructions of Musical Listening: Audience Etiquette from the Nineteenth Century to Today" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive. 4017.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/4017