Chamber music and organization theory: some typical organizational phenomena seen under the microscope

In this paper I suggest, on the one hand, that organization theory offers an interpretation of the reality of arts producing organizations and, on the other, that the empirical analysis of these realities can supply new input for organization theory. As a practical example of artistic production I refer to an international chamber music festival. Close inspection of chamber music will reveal characteristics that apply to any type of organization. I begin by looking at the nature of arts management and the arts manager. I go on to analyse the characteristics of the production process in the performing arts, which can be seen as communication taking place on three levels: between audience and performers (concept of ‘prosumer’); within the performing group (‘listening ability’); between the author of the written text and the performer/interpreter (‘concept of value’). I finish by showing how in a symboliccultural framework the features identified in the paper can feed back into organization studies.

Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past.

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets