The popular music revolution in the nineteenth century

Abstract

On hearing the words « popular music revolution », thoughts are likely to turn to
the 1950s when rock ’n’ roll overturned established ideas about the character and
style of popular music. However, the nineteenth century witnessed the first cultural
upheaval of this kind, as popular styles began to assert their independence and
distinct values. No longer was the popular style something offering a more easily
digested blend of techniques found in high-status music; it had its own
characteristic forms and devices. London, New York, Paris, and Vienna were cities
in which the challenge to the classical tradition was strongest, and in which original
and influential forms of popular music arose. This revolution was driven by social
changes and the incorporation of music into a system of capitalist enterprise: it
resulted in a polarization between the style of musical entertainment and that of « serious » art. The paper briefly examines the key genres and styles that
precipitated musical change at that time.