The social pathways of musical acclaim
This paper analyses the social determinants of access to artistic recognition in classical music. Rejecting naturalist theoretical models focused on talent as the ultimate explanatory principle of the success of artistic careers, it aims to highlight the social conditions of acclaim in music. Thus, the recognition process is studied through the instrument inequalities it creates, which are closely tied to social differentiations. After revealing these inequalities, which tend to lead mainly to the recognition of interpreters of socially selected instruments, the author examines ways used by to interpreters of instruments that are socially more open to overcome the lack of recognition they receive. More often than not, these musicians are encouraged to teach. The study of musicians’ career paths reveals the social dynamics they are subjected to, from social origin, which conditions in particular their early familiarization with the principles of classical music, to gender inequalities that shape the way in which they “accept their status.”