Chord and discord: organizational crisis, institutional shifts, and the musical canon of the symphony

Poetics 30 (2002) 63–85 www.elsevier.com/locate/poetic

Chord and discord: organizational crisis, institutional shifts, and the musical canon of the symphony Mary Ann Glynn Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

Abstract The musical canon and the symphony orchestra co-evolved as highly institutionalized cultural forms. And yet, because of embedded ideological tensions, they are dynamic entities that can shift in response to pivotal events or crises. In this qualitative study, I explore how the repertoire of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) changed in response to the orchestral retrenchment predicated on the 1996 musicians’ strike. Conducting a comparative historical analysis of ASO music reviews pre-and post-strike, supplemented by interviews with musicians, administrators and music critics, I investigate how the strike affected the content and performance of the musical canon. I find that, although the traditional repertoire remained substantially intact, shifts in the performance and packaging of the canon were evident as the ASO attempted to resolve the strains of balancing aesthetic ideology against fiscal reality. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Aaron Copland reportedly observed, ‘‘The music comes first. Everything else is ‘commentary’’’ [quoted in American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL), 1993: 33]. Yet, much of the work in the sociology of music seems to have inverted this relationship. The literature on cultural industries and institutions, it seems, is rife with ‘‘commentary’’ but meager in its attention to musical programming and composition. The oversight is ironic (Dowd, 2000), given the centrality of aesthetic performance. In the symphony orchestra, for instance, the music is ‘‘the foremost expression of its mission and the artistic aspirations of its conductor and musicians. The repertoire played is the language through which the orchestra speaks to the audience’’ (ASOL, 1993: 17). E-mail address: [email protected] 0304-422X/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0304-422X(02)00004-9

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As many scholars have noted, the constitution of the musical canon and the institutionalization of the non-profit orchestra were contemporaneous, driven by a common set of influences that sacralized the values of the elite of the time (e.g., DiMaggio, 1982). DiMaggio (1991: 135) explains: ‘‘For a society to have cultural capital—sets of cultural goods and capacities that are widely recognized as prestigious—there must be institutions capable of valorizing certain symbolic goods and social groups capable of appropriating them.’’ And while the institutional forces present at the founding of both the music and the symphony are well studied (e.g., DiMaggio, 1982, 1991; DeNora, 1991), less attention has been given to points past that of institutional creation. Like the broader neo-institutional literature on which it is based, institutionalists studying musical programming and production tend to depict the role of agents as influential at founding and early moments as ‘‘institutional entrepreneurs’’ (DiMaggio, 1982) to the neglect of their subsequent impact. Over time, and with the firm establishment of musical and organizational conventions in institutionalists’ accounts, actors fade as do conflict and change (e.g., DiMaggio, 1991). This presumption of inertia seems unwarranted, however, because cultural institutions are neither unchanging nor static. Alexander (1996: 799) reminds us ‘‘managers are actors, not just reactors.’’ Gilmore (1993: 224) alerts us to the ongoing and institutionally embedded ‘‘aesthetic tension in the concert world’’ among groups representing conflicting interests for social control over production resources. This conflict for control is pronounced in cultural institutions because they are multiprofessional firms, such that different sets of actors value, promote, and contest different aspects of the organization so as to align with their particular sets of interests (Glynn, 2000). Cultural organizations have hybridized identities, such that contradictory elements—artistic ideology and managerial utilitarianism—co-exist (Albert and Whetten, 1985) in harmonious equilibrium until changes erupt that precipitate organizational action and a re-direction of resources and power. As a result of such shifts, organizational conflicts ensue as different sets of actors emphasize one identity element (and its associated values and assets) and disclaim the other. This can shift an institution’s dominant logic and ideological bent such that ‘‘the artistic character of that art world is altered’’ (Gilmore, 1993: 224), particularly when the logic of managerialism comes to the fore. This process of shifting ideologies is transparent in the symphony orchestra. In recent years, the orchestra has experienced a host of environmental jolts and economic strains, including audience declines, changed markets, reduced funding, and budget shortfalls; these have prompted increased concerns for the utilitarian, business side of the enterprise over the aesthetic or artistic side (DiMaggio, 1986). And yet, the impact of such institutional shifts on the ‘‘artistic character’’ of the symphony orchestra (Gilmore, 1993) is still unexplored. It is this gap that I seek to fill with this research. In this qualitative study, I examine the impact of one environmental shift, a musicians’ strike, on the content and performance of the symphony orchestra’s musical programming and performance. I investigate how institutional shifts in the dominant ideology or logic, precipitated by this strike, become manifest in the

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musical canon and the artistic performances. Focusing on the strike as a pivotal and historically rare event, I conduct a comparative analysis pre- and post-strike to uncover how a variety of actors combine to uphold the institution of the canon and the role that conflict plays in this process. The research site is the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), where musicians went on strike for 10 weeks in the fall of 1996. Analyses of critics’ reviews, archival documents, and interviews with ASO personnel and other cultural authorities, reveal shifts in the canon that are commensurate with institutional shifts in ideology. To foreshadow some of my key findings, I observe first, a noticeable shift from the logic of aesthetics to the logic of managerialism in the symphony ‘‘reflecting an orientation toward rationalization, administrative efficiency, and the market’’ (DiMaggio, 1991:148), and second, that this institutional shift elicited corresponding changes in the content and performance of the symphonic repertoire. Consistent with previous research on cultural institutions (e.g., Alexander, 1996), I found that the core repertoire substantially remained intact, but that there were marginal programmatic changes that reflected a mingling of popular culture with the traditional high culture of the symphony. Essentially, marketing concerns were grafted onto the symphonic canon to hybridize the music with a resultant change in the aesthetic appeal of the music for both musicians and critics. This paper unfolds as follows. Initially, I begin with an overview of the relevant literature on the institutionalization of the orchestral canon and its organizational form, the non-profit firm, to ground my qualitative investigation. Next, I investigate how institutional shifts in ideology pre- and post-strike affect the music that is produced and performed. Finally, I close with a discussion of the theoretical implications for the sociology of music and cultural institutions and the practical implications for the management of musical institutions.

2. Institutionalizing the canon and the orchestra: an historical overview For the symphony orchestra, the evolution of the musical canon and the orchestral structure were intertwined processes. Institutional theorists point out how cultural and organizational forms are shaped by broader sets of cognitive, normative, and regulatory forces in the social environment that are supported and enforced by powerful actors (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). The beliefs and values of these powerful interest groups converge in the establishment of ‘‘taken-for-granted,’’ culturally patterned practices and constitutive rules that define institutions, which in turn, fix and codify these sanctioned meanings in practice and in symbol. This results, then, in producing and reproducing culturally sanctioned patterns in the aggregate (Glynn and Abzug, 2002). Institutions conform to these normative practices and encode accepted beliefs because isomorphism purchases legitimacy, a resource of particular importance for cultural institutions. Nowhere, perhaps, is this institutionalization process more evident than in the mutual constitution of both the canon and the symphony orchestra: to put it simply, one has become defined by the other. Allmendinger and Hackman (1996: 340) define

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symphony orchestras as ‘‘ensembles whose primary mission is public performance of those orchestral works generally considered to fall within the standard symphonic repertoire and whose members are compensated nontrivially for their services.’’ Similarly, Gilmore (1993: 222) notes: ‘‘Repertory performance is a firmly established aesthetic and organizational form in concert music,’’ or ‘‘the repertory concert is classical music.’’ The institutionalized musical canon is central to, and inseparable from, the institution charged with performing it, the symphony, in the form of a nonprofit corporate body that hires musicians and adheres to the core repertory (ASOL, 1993: 117–118). The repertoire consists of established works by the 18th and 19th century composers whose music forged the prototype for the orchestra (Weber, 1984); both the musical canon and the organizational form of the symphony became highly institutionalized over time (DeNora, 1991). The musical canon reflects the institutionalization of symbolic elements valued by the dominant class at the time (Bourdieu, 1973) to signal elite status, legitimacy, and class demarcation. DiMaggio (1991) details the institutionalization process in the United States and notes the interdependencies of music canon and music organization. In particular, DiMaggio (1982) demonstrates that the sacralization of high culture emerged hand in hand with the creation of non-profit organizations by urban elites such as the Boston Brahmins. As elites created organizations that were shielded from market pressures, they were able to offer repertoires and exhibitions that they felt featured the ‘‘best and exalted’’ in music rather than the collage of high and popular works typical for earlier for-profit enterprises. After 1870, DiMaggio (1982) points out that the arts became the business of organizations and were themselves segmented into two fields: the ‘‘high’’ (of the elites) and the ‘‘popular’’ (of the public masses). In rather short order, then, the professionals that ran these high culture institutions on behalf of urban elites became key players in the ‘‘sacralization’’ process (DiMaggio, 1982). In Boston, for instance, the institutionalization of non-profit organizations and high culture arose together and were realized in the establishment of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; in turn, these cultural institutions become models for the non-profit firm. This prototypical model of the cultural institution diffused rapidly, both geographically and artistically, eventually migrating to other artistic forms such as opera, theater, and dance. And, as the institution of the non-profit spread, so too did the institution of ‘‘high culture,’’ enabled by colleges and universities as they began to include arts in the curriculum. Thus, institutions of higher education (colleges and universities) helped create the pool of professionals who would run non-profit art organizations and the potential audience who could appreciate such high culture (DiMaggio, 1982). Such familiarity provided demonstrable advantages to individuals as they negotiated and advanced in educational and occupational realms. Indeed, for DiMaggio, familiarity with high culture is what ‘‘cultural capital’’ entails—‘‘proficiency in the consumption of and discourse about generally prestigious—that is, institutionally screened and validated – cultural goods’’ (DiMaggio, 1991: 134). Thus, it became that, through conservative practices in programming, the performance of the repertory became the standard for both the aesthetic and organizational form in concert music (Gilmore, 1993: 222).

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The ideology of the symphony focused on musical artistry, attuned to the performance of ‘‘high culture’’ and the attraction of audiences who were familiar with the genre. Through their participation in the arts, audience members could traffic in the currency of ‘‘cultural capital’’ and thus advance perceptions of their elite status. With the development of ‘‘high culture,’’ elites emphasizing status differences conspired to further institutionalize the orchestral canon, fixing the standard, classical repertoire in time, a trend that is still evident today. The 1992–1993 Orchestra Repertoire Report, by the American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL), reports that the repertoire played in regular subscription concerts for largest 100 orchestras in the US and Canada demonstrates a preference for a very limited canon and a continuing focus on masterpieces from the 18th and 19th century repertoire. Thus, a common process to institutionalize the values and preferences of the elite drove the development of both the musical canon and the symphonic orchestra. And, in spite of the cultural persistence they evidence, they are nonetheless dynamic. They embody ‘‘aesthetic tensions’’ (Gilmore, 1993) which can drive change. Moreover, DiMaggio (1986, 1991) begins to anticipate the need for change in his observation that the institutionalization of high culture may be on the wane. As well, the popular press has worried, noting that classical music is in trouble (Tommasini, 2001: 1). I turn now to examining these institutional shifts in the musical canon and the orchestral form.

3. Conflict, change, and institutional shifts All orchestras have been affected by changes rendered by declines in the industry—a ‘‘graying’’ audience base, decreased recording contract opportunities, and diminished government funding for the arts. Such demographic, financial, and market shifts are well documented in a research report, The Financial Condition of Symphony Orchestras, which noted that trying to sustain the economic vitality of orchestras is a growing and difficult problem (ASOL, 1993: 4–5). There are a number of reasons driving these observed changes. For one, the urban elites who once enforced the boundaries of high culture are not as cohesive as they once were (DiMaggio, 1986). Ironically, elites’ desire for status differentiation—and walling off ‘‘high culture’’ from the masses—may have succeeded all too well, making classical music marginal and inaccessible to the public. As one music authority observes: ‘‘As long as classical music is in the preservation business, it should come as no surprise that potential new audiences, who are instinctively drawn to new works in other fields, dismiss classical music as dated and irrelevant (Tommasini, 2001: 1 and 32). Perceptions of being outmoded have been applied not only to the canon but also to the orchestra. Criticized for being ‘‘museums of music,’’ where great masterpieces of the ages are presented and preserved (ASOL, 1993: 32), symphonies have been admonished to re-energize and balance traditional with non-traditional music to attract a broader audience base. The response has been some innovative programming. Seen on more and more orchestral programs, along with the mainstay core

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repertoire, are new composers, including some ‘‘modern’’ 20th century talent, as well as artists from the ‘‘lowbrow’’ pop culture. However, traditional audiences and critics do not easily accept such novelty. In turn, such creative programming has elicited a strong and vocal response. One concert program incorporating the music of Hollywood composers was panned by a critic for being ‘‘pretentious and pernicious tonal tripe scored in the usual sodden and overripe Hollywood manner;’’ as well, the symphony was scolded for commissioning ‘‘a well-remunerated Hollywood hack’’ (Schiff, 2001: 1 and 36). The elitist bias of arts critics, particularly for the highbrow performing arts, is well documented (Blau et al., 1985; DiMaggio, 1991). The critic, recognized as an important part of the institutional context (Griswold, 1987) especially in the performing arts (Shrum, 1991), often serves as gatekeeper (Hirsch, 1972) or cultural authority (DiMaggio, 1987). As such, the music critic evaluates the application of aesthetic systems to musical programming and to artistic performance with a bias towards tradition, thereby keeping musical programming conservative. DiMaggio (1987) explains that where classifications are universalistic, as is the case for the orchestral repertoire, any attempt to modify a genre must contend with the cultural authority of preexisting genres. Thus, the musical canon of the symphony seems particularly resistant to large-scale change but potentially vulnerable to incremental or small-scale innovation, particular where it might address the economic concerns of the orchestra. The institutionalization in the musical canon has a parallel in the rigidity of the symphony’s structure, which has been characterized as isolationist, segregating orchestral members by their roles in the production of music (ASOL, 1993: 177). The symphony’s characteristic governance structure has been likened to a threelegged stool, consisting of the Executive Director, the Board Chair, and the Music Director (or Conductor), each reflecting different sets of professional groups—and their concomitant interests—within the orchestra. The role of musicians seems least changed as an occupation but most changed in terms of power vis-a`-vis the institution. Musicians are professional performance artists (Becker, 1953) and union members, belonging to The American Federation of Musicians (AFM). As a profession, musicians are highly institutionalized; by one estimate, more than twenty percent of the musicians holding chairs in major American orchestras were trained at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center, a sixty-year old school for young musicians (Johnson, 1987: 70). And yet, the musicians have no formal role in the leadership structure of the orchestra. Their voice often emerges through institutions other than the symphony, particularly the union, and occasionally culminates in conflict or a strike. Recent years have witnessed a number of musicians’ strikes in major US orchestras, notably Philadelphia, San Francisco and Atlanta in 1996; all have been concerned with economic issues, including musicians’ wages, benefits, and working conditions. In contrast to the elites of yesteryear, who brokered in cultural capital, orchestra executives today are less likely to be differentiated by class. Orchestra managers are somewhat underprofessionalized, trying to combine both business skills and artistic

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training but lacking certification; some are former musicians. For board members, the symphony is largely a secondary affiliate, following after their primary professional occupation, such as law, business, or medicine (Glynn, 2000); such professional associations are likely to bring a managerial ideology to symphonic concerns about economic and financial issues. The high degree of the institutionalization of both the musical canon and the orchestral form, encoded through the years and reinforced by cultural authorities, suggests that radical change in either is unlikely, even under crisis. Radical change in the symphonic repertoire, particularly in the short term, would risk orchestral legitimacy and cultural capital. According to Allmendinger and Hackman (1996), the symphonic orchestra is the repertoire; radical changes in one would seem to necessitate commensurate radical changes in the other, a move that could threaten the credible reputation of a symphony. Moreover, a shift in the canon risks the loss of the traditional audience and the specter of even more dire economic times. Thus, I expect that there will be institutional inertia such that the core repertory of the symphony orchestra will remain unchanged under the duress of a strike, as the orchestra seeks to preserve its status and legitimacy: I predict that the content of musical programming, with its focus on the traditional music canon, essentially will be the same in the post-strike period as compared to the pre-strike period. However, I expect to see incremental changes in the post-strike period in the format and packaging of musical programs. Changes at the margins of play are likely as the strike invokes renewed attention and focus on a managerial ideology that attempts to address economic, market and financial shortcomings. And, although the content of the canon is highly institutionalized, its performance may be less so. The institutionalization of the canon imposes constraints on the musical programming of the symphony; its rendering in live performance by musicians may have more interpretive sway and bend the bars of the ‘‘iron cage’’ a bit (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). Gilmore (1993: 223) has argued for greater attention to the influence of the artists themselves in articulating aesthetic priorities. His urging of ‘‘bringing the artist back in’’ might, for institutionalists, be an admonition to allow for agency in institutionalization processes. This is likely to be most transparent in artists’ rendering of traditional music through their interpretive performance. A critical element in any mode of cultural production is the artist who creates and distributes art (DiMaggio, 1987). Musicians are artistic performers, or ‘‘aesthetic specialists’’ who ‘‘bring the aesthetic event into being’’ (Shrum, 1991: 372). Becker (1973) shows that art-making is collective action; ‘‘art can be seen as a product of the norms, conventions, and work routines of artists working in collaboration’’ (Peterson, 1979: 154). Thus, while artistic performance may be derivative of institutionalized norms, it is not always fully determined by them. That artistry can transcends institutional routines is evident in Murnighan and Conlon’s (1991: 167) study of string quartets in which they found that musicians identified with, and were inspired by, the music they play ‘‘to achieve their ultimate goal—to produce transcendent, glorious sound—for an extended period.’’ And, although most of the music the string quartets play is from the ‘‘traditional repertoire,’’ the quartets introduce variation through interpretation and expression:

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Each group tries to achieve a unique interpretation and a forceful presentation each time it plays a piece. Any composition can be played an infinite number of ways, with varying speed, emphasis, rhythm, balance, and phrasing. Thus, a string quartet tries to stamp each performance with its own character and style. (Murnighan and Conlon, 1991: 166). Thus, although there may be less variation in the content of the orchestral canon, there may be more variation in its interpretive play to reflect players’ identities as ‘‘aesthetic specialists.’’ Moreover, it is the core repertory—the institutionalized canon—because of its repeated performances that encourages musicians to emphasize ‘‘technical skills in artistic practice, or virtuosity. . .[which] has become the dominant aesthetic focus of the performance arts in the 20th century’’ (Gilmore, 1993: 222). Further, Gilmore (1988) discerns two different types of performance activity for musicians in the orchestra: artistic innovation, with a focus on creativity, and artistic virtuosity, with a focus on technical skill. Artistic innovation is evident when, to differentiate themselves from the logic of managerialism, artists seek to claim the logic of aesthetics in their rendering of the canon. Becker (1953:25) demonstrated that music professionals confront inherent conflict between aesthetic autonomy and employment opportunities, between artistic integrity and pleasing the audience; he states, ‘‘The ethos of the profession fosters an admiration for spontaneous and individualistic behavior and a disregard for the rules of society in general.’’ The greatest dilemma for the professional musician, Becker (1951: 136) contends, ‘‘is the necessity of choosing between conventional success and his ‘artistic’ standards.’’ And yet, as Dowd (2000) points out, aesthetic performers often use success to purchase greater creative autonomy; successful performers create more musically diverse products than their less successful counterparts. And, interpretative, expressive play may be an important means for doing this. The symphony, in order to enhance its elite capabilities and reputation, would seek to embody agents (musicians) who are consummate professionals (i.e., experts at complex tasks who are clearly judged to be technically proficient and skillful). Abbott (1991: 19) notes how the vital role of professions is to institutionalize expertise (i.e., the ability to successfully accomplish complex tasks). He states that ‘‘professionalism generally applies to the esoteric and intellectual aspects of expert knowledge’’ (p. 27), criteria that certainly apply to orchestra musicians who play an elaborate and challenging musical canon. And, while musicians are professionals, it is through their organizational membership in the orchestra that cultural institutions can be said to have institutionalized expertise. Institutions accomplish this by providing social structures with governing norms that endow agents with legitimacy and value; nonetheless, those structures, norms, and beliefs are themselves subject to continuing contestation and change (Abbott, 1991: 20), an ideological conflict particularly evident during an orchestral strike. I predict that it is this perception of professionalism that musicians would seek to cultivate in their pre-strike performance. By emphasizing their virtuosity and expertise, musicians legitimate their identity as professional artists, thus claiming an aesthetic ideology and differentiating it from the managerialism of administrators.

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Thus, musicians would seek to perform in ways that enhance their status as professionals. I expect that in the time period preceding the strike, musicians’ performance will emphasize technical virtuosity over innovative interpretations so that their play will be interpreted by music critics as professional, competent, and masterful. However, in the wake of the resolution of the strike, with professional safeguards protected, I predict that musicians will re-claim and re-emphasize their artistry and play so as to emphasize the aesthetic, passion, and creative elements of their performance of the canon. With legitimacy thus established in the wake of the strike, musicians can focus on unique interpretation and expressive play, emphasizing their particular style, much in the way that the string quartets that Murnighan and Conlon (1991: 166) studied enjoyed. More specifically, I expect that in the post-strike period, musicians’ performance will emphasize artistry and creativity over professional virtuosity so that their play will be interpreted by music critics as expressive, innovative, and emotional. I examine these expectations about comparative changes in the content and performance of the musical canon in the orchestra for the preand post-strike periods in the study that follows.

4. Research methods 4.1. Research site The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) was founded in 1947. The last half-century has witnessed its growth from a regional orchestra to a national one; today, it is considered to be one of the top ten American Orchestras. The orchestra consists of 95 full-time musicians and a Conductor/Artistic Director; the size and composition of the ASO is comparable to that of major symphonies in the United States (Allmendinger and Hackman, 1996: 343). The musicians’ strike took place over 10 weeks, from 22 September to 4 December, in 1996. The focus of the ASO strike was on musicians’ salary and working conditions. It was precipitated by management’s decision not to tenure six probationary ASO musicians, who had satisfied tenure standards of musical quality. Management rationalized their decision as one of resource constraint and a lack of finances; their explanation clearly reflected the logic of managerialism and not that of aesthetic ideology. Although management later recanted their decision and tenured these six musicians, partly in response to an infusion of resources and vocal community outrage, the ASO musicians voted to strike when their contract expired. During this period, a series of offers and counteroffers were tended; ultimately, a new contract was negotiated with provisions for fixing the size of the orchestra at 95 tenured positions and for increasing wages over the next 4 years. The ASO Musical Director, Yoel Levi, negotiated an extension on his contract to the summer of 2000. On 27 April 1997, he announced he would resign at the conclusion of his contract, but subsequently (on 2/27/98) asked to withdraw his resignation. However, the board voted not to accept Levi’s withdrawal of his resignation, citing artistic differences. Levi left as Musical Director in May 2000.

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4.2. Data sources This qualitative study relies on three data sources: (1) discourse of critics, as evidenced in their published reviews of the orchestral performances, (2) interviews with ASO personnel and other cultural authorities, and (3) an analysis of the content and performance of the repertoire itself as revealed through archival materials, published accounts, and critical reviews. 4.2.1. Critical reviews The primary data sources are the 63 published reviews by music critics of ASO performances for the three Master Seasons (September through May of each year) in the local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, for the following years surrounding the strike: 1995–1996, the year preceding the strike (N=24 reviews); 1996–1997, the year that included the 10-week strike in the Fall of 1996 (N=17 reviews); and 1997–1998, the first full season after the strike (N=22 reviews). Reviews have been used in previous research as indicators of musical performance and success (Murnighan and Conlon, 1991; Shrum, 1991). I adopt Shrum’s (1991: 372) view of reviewers as ‘‘ideological labelers, opinionators, tastemakers, and symbolic framers of events’’ and use published reviews as a narrative of orchestral changes in the content and conduct of the musical canon precipitated by the musicians’ strike. There are five elements of the review (Shrum, 1991: 351–352): (1) descriptive elements, which provide information about the cultural object, performers, or setting as a ‘‘thumbnail synopsis of what the audience may expect,’’ (2) analytic elements, which provide interpretations about aesthetic significance, (3) entertainment elements (displays of erudition or outrage), which are interwoven through the description and analyses, (4) instruction for cultural producers, which is relatively rare, and (5) evaluative elements, which are ‘‘positive or negative judgments, often distinct from the descriptive passages of the review.’’ In this study, the descriptive elements informed my analysis of the content of the musical canon; this was used to examine my expectations concerning persistence in the core repertoire. The analytical, entertainment, and evaluative elements of the critics’ reviews informed my analysis of the performance of the musical canon; this was used to examine my expectations concerning the shifts in technical virtuosity and aesthetic expression. I found no instances of instruction in the review set used in this study. Consistent with other researchers (Murnighan and Conlon, 1991; Shrum, 1991), I classified the reviews as favorable (positive), unfavorable (negative) or mixed (neutral). I also content analyzed the reviews to illuminate how the critic perceived the orchestral playing; I eliminated reviews of specific guest conductors, guest soloists, or individual performances and focused only on reviews of the orchestra and/or its Music Director/Conductor. I classified reviewer comments into those that referred to professionalism (virtuosity) and those that referred to artistic, creative expression whether they were favorable or not. Professionalism was coded when the reviewer referenced the technical competency, capability, skill, mastery or virtuosity of the

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orchestra, particularly in terms of its ‘‘execution’’ of pieces; I took as evidence words like expert, adept, artistic, mastery and virtuosity. I included comments that alluded to balanced but not ‘‘over-emotional’’ performances. Artistry was coded when the reviewer referenced the artistic, poetic, creative, inspired, or expressive qualities of playing; I took as evidence remarks about the passion, emotive and aesthetic qualities of the performance. Similar to Allmendinger and Hackman (1996: 338), I conducted a comparative analysis to examine the content and performance of orchestral music pre- and poststrike. There are a number of important controls built into this design. First, the musical canon itself is comparable over these time periods; this results in controlling the degree of task variance, as these authors explain: The core task of symphony orchestras is well defined and similar both within and across nations, in that symphony orchestras around the world play largely the same repertoire with roughly the same number and mix of players . . . most task-based variance is automatically controlled. This reduces the problem, common in comparative research, that differences in tasks or composition are confounded with organizational or national contexts. (Allmendinger and Hackman, 1996: 340) Second, there was no significant change in the key orchestral players or the musical director in this period. Thus, variations in performance cannot be explained by personnel changes. Third, the music critics who published reviews did not change over this three-year period. Two music critics, Derrick Henry and Jerry Schwartz, authored all but one of the 63 published reviews in the local paper that reported on the symphony, The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Each critic did the same number of reviews: 31 (or 49%). However, these reviews were distributed differently across the years. Henry and Schwartz split the 24 reviews for the 1995–1996 season, authoring 58 and 42% respectively. Henry did all 17 reviews for the abbreviated 1996–1997 season, and Schwartz did nearly all (95%) of the 22 reviews for the 1997–1998 season. An analysis of their opinions indicated that there did not seem to be a systematic bias in their evaluation, either by reviewer (61% of all Henry’s reviews were favorable compared to 58% of Schwartz’s) or by year (favorable reviews by year were: 54% [1995–1996], 70.5% [1996–1997] and 60% [1997–1998]). These tendencies for favorableness in reviews are consistent with those reported by Shrum (1991). Thus, there did not seem to be partiality in the subjectivity of reviewers’ opinions. I concluded that variations could not be attributed to variations in the interpretations by the different music critics. 4.2.2. Interviews To supplement the published music critics’ perspective, I conducted 13 interviews (ten during the strike and three within the 3 months afterward), with the following individuals: three musicians, three board members, two managers, three audience members/subscribers, a music critic (who regularly reported on the ASO), and an industry expert and member of the American Symphony Orchestra League. The

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musicians interviewed had key positions in the orchestra (as Principals or Assistant Principals) or the players’ union. Administrators included senior level ASO managers as well as board members. Interviews averaged 1.5–2 h, and were tape-recorded or transcribed with (nearly) verbatim notes. Two or more individuals conducted all interviews; notes were compared after each interview to check accuracy and consistency. 4.2.3. Archival materials Published information about the ASO was reviewed, including materials generated by the musicians during the strike (e.g., ASOPA News, the official bulletin of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Association) as well as press releases, leaflets, and pamphlets distributed to audiences and the public. This was supplemented with more general information about American symphony orchestras and the classical music industry (from, for instance, Harmony, the Forum of the Symphony Orchestra Institute; Symphony, the magazine of the American Symphony Orchestra League). The manuscript, Americanizing the American Orchestra (ASOL, 1993), provided information on performance genres and programmatic content for symphony orchestras in North America. This is a comparable but more recent data set to that used by Gilmore (1993) in his analysis of repertory content over time. As well, I used Gilmore’s (1993) tri-part classification of concert programming; his categories (with their probability of performance—high, moderate and low) are: repertory, pre-1900 composers (high probability); early 20thcentury composers (moderate probability); and contemporary, post-1940 composers (low probability). Finally, I also used ASO published programs to discern the musical works played in each concert. These were identified by composer’s name, birth country, and date of composition; data on the last two variables was obtained through Internet resources on the worldwide web, notably from The Catalogue of Classical Composers and the William and Gayle Cook Music Library, Indiana University School of Music. This data was categorized for analysis using Gilmore’s (1993) tripartite classification scheme: repertory, works composed pre-1900; early 20thcentury, works composed 1900–1940; and contemporary, works composed post1940.

5. Results 5.1. Comparative changes in the content of the canon, 1995–1998 Table 1 presents an analysis of the ASO programmatic content by year. Inspection of the table indicates that, in the years before, during, and after the 1996 strike, the ASO Master Season exhibits a remarkably stable pattern in programming from the core repertoire: 75% of programming content came from the traditional canon in the years before (1995–1996) and during the strike (1996–1997), and 79% for the post-strike year (1997–1998). Over this 3-year period punctuated by a strike, the

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Table 1 Canon of orchestral repertoire by composers and style: annual comparisons for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO)

Programming category: Styles of musica Repertory: works composed pre-1900 Early 20th century: works composed 1900–1940 Contemporary: works composed post-1940 Grand total: number of works/year Composers Unique composers/program European composers a

ASO 1995–1996 (pre-strike)

ASO 1996–1997 (Fall 1996 strike)

ASO 1997–1998 (post-strike)

75%

75%

79%

25%

15%

14%

0

9%

7%

52

33

43

72% 65%

74% 82%

69% 79%

Classification from Gilmore (1993: 226).

pattern of concert programming is relatively inert and closely matches that reported by Gilmore (1993) in his study of the 1969–1970 performance season. More detailed post hoc analysis of the composers in the program indicated that the ASO program tended to focus on the same top ten composers as most other large North American symphonies; these repertory composers accounted for 24% (1995–1996), 33% (1996–1997), and 36% (1997–1998) of all composers on the ASO program annually. Thus, the content of the canon did not change substantially in response to the strike, consistent with my expectations. Its focus on a narrow set of classic repertory ‘‘dead composers,’’ perhaps as an indicator of status (Gilmore, 1993: 225), closely paralleled that of other orchestras. This narrowness and persistence in programming content is evident in other analyses. The variance in composers (i.e., number of different composers/total number of composers) was small and comparable in the pre-strike 1995–1996 season (72%) and the post-strike 1997–1998 season (69%); in both, there was a heavily reliance on European composers (65 versus 79%, respectively). Thus, even with the interruption of the musicians’ strike, the content of the traditional repertoire seemed resilient and intact, as predicted. However, although radical changes in the content of the institutionalized canon were not evident, incremental changes in programming were observed: ‘‘A keynote of the fall (1997) season of music-making in Symphony Hall has been the calculated attempt to break down the ‘fourth wall’ between performers and the audience with explanatory talks’’ (Schwartz, 1997d: 7F). This boundary demarcation preserved social distance between artist and audience ‘‘to permit the mystification necessary to define a body of artistic work as sacred’’ (DiMaggio, 1982: 380). Thus, with

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orchestral economics brought to the forefront with the crisis of a strike, there was a slight shift in the institutional boundaries around the canon. Programming changes were found to occur at the margins of play and in response to financial issues emerging from the strike, a trend consistent with the shift emphasizing the managerial ideology of economics or utilitarianism. Notably, the 1997–1998 season saw the resignation of the Music Director, Yoel Levi, who conceded an artistic strain from financial constraints that injected . . .more obvious themes into this year’s master season concerts. ‘‘Some of them are very clear—like an all-Beethoven or all-Mozart or all-Russian program,’’ Levi said. ‘‘But there are more subtle themes such as a program of works all based on the musical technique of variations.’’ . . . Levi said there also was a conscious effort to frame programs with more variety of tone. ‘‘A Spanish-or French-style program will be very different from a German or Russian program.’’ (Schwartz, 1997b: 1L) The programming changes seemed more satisfying to economic than aesthetic objectives. As Gilmore (1993: 235) notes, when aesthetic interests converge with organizational interests, programming of the standard repertory is more predictable; scheduling strives for a ‘‘programming mix (i.e., the relationship of hearing one piece in conjunction with another)’’ that is aesthetically pleasing. Decoupling aesthetic from organizational interests can result in programs that fall short on aesthetic criteria. Such thematic programs (e.g., an all-Beethoven concert) lack good ‘‘programming mix’’ and elicit unfavorable reviews. A negative blast was heard from one critic who (predictably) resisted what he saw as blurring the line between highbrow and lowbrow art—that is, the sort of ‘‘transgressions of genre boundaries’’ upon which critics remark (DiMaggio, 1991: 142): The marketing folks at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are doing their best to draw crowds to the Master Season concert series. But this year has produced so many one-trick pony programs that it’s beginning to get a little unnerving. Already this year there have been all-Beethoven, all-Mozart, and all-French programs. Yet to come are all Russian, all Mendelssohn and all Baroque. This week it’s all Spanish themes. . . .There’s nothing wrong with programming any of the music played this week. But the color and drama of these pieces work best when contrasted with works of different hues and styles. Put another way, for how many consecutive meals could you eat gazpacho and paella before the novelty of their rich spiciness began to wear thin? (Schwartz, 1998b: 12P) The programming changes are also evident in an analysis of the styles played. In the pre-strike season (1995–1996), one-half of the concert programs featured only one style; 92% of these concerts focused on the repertory. The remaining one-half tended to combine repertory works with early 20th-century works; no contemporary

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works were played in the pre-strike season. This changed dramatically in the poststrike year. In 1997–1998, approximately three-quarters of the concerts (77%) featured a single thematic style; again, most of these (88%) were repertory. However, the remaining programs combined two styles (20th century or contemporary with repertory) and two concerts featured work from all three styles (repertory, 20th century, and contemporary). In the face of organizational retrenchment, then, there seemed to be musical retrenchment towards the traditional repertory canon, albeit in different packaging. Much like the case of art museums, the packaging or format changes seemed intended to make the music more understandable and accessible to a wider audience (Alexander, 1996). The thematic and programmatic musical changes grafted marketing concerns onto the traditional canon in ways that neither the musicians nor the critics found aesthetically appealing. Thus, it seemed that managerialism displaced artistry in the assembly of concert packaging. The institutionalization of the canon and pressures from critics to maintain the traditional repertoire encouraged persistence in the musical content of the ASO program, even with a musicians’ strike. Although organizational changes may broker revolutions in for-profit firms, there seems to be a retrenchment towards the legitimacy of the culturally authorized pieces. Change occurred at the margins, occasionally introducing a nontraditional piece or a thematic novelty into the program. I concluded that there was support for the institutional inertia prediction, positing that the musical canon of the symphony orchestra will evidence only incremental changes in programming content; such changes will be driven primarily by strike-related economic or financial considerations perceived by orchestra administration rather than the aesthetic interests of the musicians. 5.2. Comparative changes in the performance of the canon, 1995–1998 Near the start of the 1995–1996 Master Season, a music critic testified to the professional character of the ASO, albeit not in the most flattering manner:

At their best, the combination of the ASO and Levi can compete with virtually any orchestra in the world in performances of complex, technically demanding, large-scale works. It’s in the heart of the repertory—Beethoven, for example— that the orchestra can sink back into merely competent performances. (Schwartz, 1995: 4H) Until the 1996 strike, the overall character of the ASO and its Music Director/ Conductor, Yoel Levi, was perceived to render a ‘‘neat, balanced performance’’ (Schwartz, 1995: 4H). But, 6 weeks into the new season immediately following the strike, a dramatic shift was in evidence: ‘‘it’s very clear that the old mechanical, paint-by-the-numbers performances are gone—probably (and thankfully) for good’’ (Schwartz, 1997a: 2H).

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Table 2 displays the analysis of reviewers’ comments categorized separately by professionalism and by artistry for the 1995–1996 pre-strike season. On balance, ASO performers elicited commentary that focused on effective, competent, and skillful professionalism to a far greater extent than artistry; of the 18 reviews that commented on professionalism and/or artistry, 14 (78%) alluded to ASO professionalism, while only half as many (7 or 39%) commented on ASO artistry (see Table 2). Before the strike, then, musicians’ performance was perceived by reviewers to be noticeably more technically competent and professional than innovative or artistically expressive, in line with my expectations concerning performance. The musicians offer perspective that explains these findings. An interview with one musician in the months after the strike revealed concerns about their perceived identity as professionals. The musician spoke about tense relations with the administration (both ASO management and the board) during negotiations, and, in particular, his frustration at their incomprehension of musician’s professional stature: ‘‘We’re not dummies and we’re not truck drivers!’’ The musician claimed that the administration had ‘‘no understanding of what it took to get here’’ and communicated derogatory comments to the players: In 20 years, when you’re plumbers and electricians, you’ll know how good you had it [at ASO]. My god, $50,000 per year and you’re a musician, playing an instrument! The musicians perceived the ASO Board to have a different focal orientation and identity than theirs and that this had shifted over time. As one musician observed in an interview: Boards are cyclical. Twenty to thirty years ago they were more philanthropic. Now they’re filled with business people who recruit ‘‘like-minded’’ people. . .it’s become a ‘‘bottom-line mentality’’. . .The older boards were more sympathetic to musicians. This musician’s sentiments were echoed by another who felt that management was patronizing and superior: Management felt musicians should feel lucky to be making good music and above-average wages; after all, employment as musicians is a ‘‘frill’’ and less meaningful than being a businessman or lawyer. Thus, as a counter to the perceived managerial perspective, and to blunt interest in utilitarian issues like compensation and working conditions during the strike, musicians wanted to be perceived clearly as professional virtuosos. Musicians sought the appearance of thoughtful, effective, balanced, skilled, and masterful professionals and not as emotionally overdrawn, reckless artists who might jeopardize the stature of the symphony. This is not to imply that professionalism and artistry are

Table 2 Content analysis of reviews: musician’s professionalism versus artistry. Pre-strike, 1995–1996 master season Verbatim reviewer comments on professionalism

Verbatim reviewer comments on artistry

09/08/95 Opening

Not a program for neophytes. . .long and equally complex. No way exaggerated or eccentric

More poetry, more emotional scope

09/15/95

[Other than the guest soloist performance] that was about it for passionate intensity. . .The orchestra and Levi filled the remainder of the program with credible, professional, but hardly compelling performances Big, zesty and extravagant, but not all disrespectful of this most passionate music. . .a rich cocoon of supporting tone ASO, which plays with controlled moderation by design and custom, was whipped into a musical frenzy. . .the musicians. . .manage to keep up with [GC’s] fervor without going totally out of control. Indeed, it was an ‘‘in-your-face’’ performance without being a slap in the face Contemplative performance More prominent and skillful display this week

09/21/95 09/29/95

10/20/95 11/03/95 11/10/95

Urgency and crackling excitement out of character with some previous performances Poetry and subtlety distinguished the work of both the orchestra and the chorus

12/06/95 03/03/95 03/10/95 03/17/95 03/31/95 04/21/95

[GC] drew committed playing from the ASO The orchestra provided spirited support [GC]’s alert, affectionate, unforced reading may have lacked the last ounce of sparkle or propulsion, but it proved immensely satisfying Brilliantly executed by the ASO . . .consistently masterful. . .interpretation conveyed drama without hysteria, pathos without sentimentality. The ASO’s playing was stunning

04/24/95 04/28/95 05/12/95 05/19/95

[Levi’s] artistry [was] poignantly communicative Emotional catharsis. . .Levi conducted with. . . understanding and passion

Remarkably assured playing from the ASO A robust, elegant performance. . .a stirring rendition. . .resplendent in sound, suffused with warmth, breadth and nobility Hair-trigger precision, a staggeringly wide dynamic range and illuminating transparency. May not have moved the listener to tears, but its sheer visceral impact left a potent impression

. . .supercharged with drama and electricity

A suitably exhilarating finale. This was a great orchestra at its virtuoso best

79

05/26/95 Final performance

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Review date

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irreconcilable; it is simply a difficult balance and, at times of crisis such as the strike, the musicians may choose to orchestrate a different balance. The return to symphonic work in the wake of the strike seemed to elicit a totally different sense of engagement from the musicians, however. The critics noted: ‘‘ASO music director Yoel Levi, conducting his first concert with the orchestra since it went on a 10-week strike 21 September, extracted playing of commitment and emotional intensity’’ (Henry, 1997: 5C). Through the spring of 1997, the orchestra returned to reviews that regularly pronounced its playing as highly emotional and described by words like passionate, evocative, intense, exhilarating, ebullient, artistic, ‘‘full of rhythmic vitality,’’ melodious, unconventional, magical, and ‘‘a compelling mixture of poetry and drama.’’ But the transition was not fleeting; it persisted into the next season, which opened with great anticipation: In more than a half-century of making music, the ASO has never produced as much disharmony as in the past year. A musicians’ strike, the resignation of legendary conductor Yoel Levi and a furor over a failure to reach out to black churches were among the many sour notes of the 1996–1997 season just ended. (Geewax, 1997: 2R) And, from the start of the 1997–1998 post-strike Master Season, things seemed different: Who was that guy in the Yoel Levi suit and mask. . .? It couldn’t have been Levi, the introverted, mechanical guy whose previous performances of Beethoven symphonies ranged from dry and passionless to totally dead fish. (Schwartz, 1997c: 23P) Through the season, critics emphasized the artistry of the ASO and evaluated this favorably; there was much less focus on the professional execution of the music that had dominated the reviews of the pre-strike Master Season of 1996– 1997. Of the 14 reviews of the 1997–1998 season that remarked on the professionalism and/or artistry of the ASO, less than half (6 or 43%) spoke of professionalism while nearly all (13 or 93%) addressed the performance artistry (see Table 3). It was a reversal of the trend observed in the pre-strike era. It seemed to reflect a shift in reviewer perceptions that saw the musicians more as artists than professionals, as expected in the post-strike period. The season closed with this reflection that seems to suggest the invocation of the professional—over the artistic—performance identity, under times of organizational crisis and stress: After this most fractious year in the life of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, it’s of the highest importance to be reminded that even on an average night the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is a remarkable ensemble and that Yoel Levi, whatever faults are being ascribed to him, will never deliver a less than professional performance. (Schwartz, 1998a: 10H)

Table 3 Content analysis of reviews: musician’s professionalism versus artistry. Post-strike, 1997–1998 master season Review date

Verbatim music reviewer comments on professionalism

Verbatim reviewer comments on musical artistry

09/19/97 Opening

Disciplined, technically polished

Levi. . .approached the score without the dogmatic strictures For nine years, Levi has had the horses gallop in the ASO. But instead of wild chariot animals, he had tamed them into mincing, prancing Lipizzaner stallions. In this 10th season, Levi seems ready to release the reins and let ’em run

10/17/97

It’s very clear that the old mechanical, paint-by-the-numbers performances are gone

11/07/97

ASO gave a sinuous, elegant performance. . .an unadorned opportunity for gorgeous tone

11/21/97

The performances were light and graceful if not entirely immaculate or totally clean in line and color. But there was a nice sense of carefree gaiety to make the music come alive

01/23/98

Levi and the orchestra offered an entirely credible performance . . .taut and not the least bit self-indulgent

Levi nevertheless gave full expression to [the music’s] rich range of emotion. . .[they] handled [the music] suavely and with elan Levi’s performance with the ASO was well balanced. While it was theatrical, it was never bombastic

02/06/98

Truth be told, the ASO performance. . .was not technically perfect

Levi’s conception of the symphony and his beautifully wrought direction of the orchestra was a wonder. . .spellbinding. . . .superb. . .deeply-felt performance

03/06/98

Orchestra execution just wasn’t up to its usual high standard . . .ordinary performance

A stunningly evocative reading of. . .familiar music

01/30/98

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09/26/97

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Review date

Verbatim music reviewer comments on professionalism

03/27/98 04/24/98

An evening of transcendent art. . .a showcase of the level of artistry possible here Committed performances of repertoire

05/01/98 05/08/98 05/22/98 Season finale

Verbatim reviewer comments on musical artistry

allows orchestra members artistic expression. . .especially emotional and communicative Performed in a kind of four-square, straight-ahead manner that really didn’t underscore the central nature of [the musical] work

Lacked the kind of spontaneous grace and carefree charm There was a real sense of an eloquent ending to a year that had its less-than-noble moments off stage

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Table 3 (continued)

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6. Conclusions In many ways, this research counterposed institutional perspectives against strategic initiatives in an attempt to account for changes in the content and performance of the musical canon in response to an orchestral strike. Institutionalists emphasize how adherence to the traditional canon garners legitimacy for both artists and organizations such that neither is likely to yield traditions in the face of conflict or environmental pressures. And yet, we know that organizations—even highly institutionalized ones—adapt and change over time and in response to crises. Allmendinger and Hackman (1996), for instance, demonstrate how orchestras adapt to the challenges and opportunities provided by changed environments. And Gilmore (1993) observes how cultural institutions embed ‘‘aesthetic tensions’’ that can erupt into conflict from which change emerges, much as it did in response to the ASO musicians’ strike. The observed shifts in the content and performance of the canon matched institutional shifts predicated on the musicians’ strike. Financial issues led the board to focus on economic concerns and to address these through the professional administrators of the orchestra; budgetary shortfalls and market declines shifted institutional attention away from an ideology of aesthetics and towards the ideology of utilitarianism and managerialism. As a result, under the now-dominant ideology of economics, the musicians attempted to carve out autonomy not in the content of the canon but in their interpretative performances. It was through their artistic creativity that they reclaimed institutional identities as artists and cultural performers. Both administrators and musicians buffered the core—the musical canon that defined both the art and the organization—in order to avert potential threats to legitimacy. It was through changes in the less central aspects of the format and delivery of the canon that institutional changes were manifest. The evidence found in this study suggests that cultural institutions respond to market, environmental, and economic pressures through the agency of actors who are often mobilized by external threats as well as intra-organizational conflict. The musicians’ strike in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra exposed latent ideological conflicts that had been institutionalized and thus taken-for-granted. By trying to resolve the conflict of the strike through the logic of managerialism, ASO administrators grafted marketing concerns onto the musical canon; this resulted in hybridized artistry. Consistent with Alexander (1996), I found that managers buffered the core not through change in the artistic styles institutionalized in the canon but by changes in the packaging or format of the canon. Thus, it was the institutionalized repertoire that was played, albeit re-packaged as ‘‘A Night of Mozart’’ or ‘‘Music from Hollywood.’’ In response, musicians and reviewers, acting in their roles as cultural authorities, heaped negative criticism upon such aesthetic offerings but also used them to seize opportunities for aesthetic and innovative expression. The musicians played with more abandon and interpreted the canon with greater artistic license; the critics reinforced this in their discourse using verbiage that highlighted and praised such artistic exuberance. Thus, in spite of institutionalized pressures for conformity to the sacred canon, musicians claimed and valorized autonomy for

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themselves. These findings speak to the role of agency in post-entrepreneurial institutional dynamics. The conflict of the strike, and the emergence of a pronounced managerialism, seemed to excite aesthetic ideology and give it expression. Thus, while administrative and musical agents maintained and reinforced normative practice in the content and artistic styles of the canon, both energetically re-interpreted norms about performance, introducing new packaging and shifting emphasis from virtuosity to artistic autonomy. Interestingly, then, conflict can function not only to create cultural institutions but also to sustain them; institutional constraints may thus give rise to the creative impulse in arts organizations.

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Mary Ann Glynn is Professor of Organization and Management at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University in Atalanta, Georgia. Her research focuses on the study of cultural institutions, including symphony orchestras and art museums, as well as cultural production systems. Her work has been published in management journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, and the Strategic Management Journal.