“Friendly Revolution”

Perspectives on Change and Transformation in Classical Concert Formats

Abstract

Classical music institutions today are increasingly experimenting with concert formats. A diverse range of “unconventional” concert formats has emerged over recent decades, adapting the “standard” classical concert along multiple dimensions. This article explores how these formats are conceptualised by practitioners, based on sixteen qualitative expert interviews with artistic directors and managers in the classical concert sector. Alongside offering insights into the multifaceted landscape of unconventional concert formats, current terminology and underlying motivations for their development, our analysis also highlights the question of how and to what extent unconventional concert formats bring about change, or even transformation, both artistically and for organisational processes. Across terminology and conceptualisations, we observe a tendency to refer back to the norm of the standard classical concert and to change or adapt this standard, rather than to fundamentally transform it. We identify festivals as key players in driving change, reflect on how values in classical music culture act as barriers to change and consider the paths for larger-scale transformations of classical concert formats.