The Material, the Artistic, and the Social: Orchestral Rehearsals in and around Berlin and London, 1813 – 1869

• Applicant: Dr. Marten Noorduin
• Subject Area: Musicology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549599254

Musicological scholarship has long detected a substantial gap between current and nineteenth-century performances of music. One important reason for this problem is that the increased complexity of nineteenth-century music led to the rise of elaborate rehearsal strategies, and that these practices, which were influenced by organizational, social, and musical factors, have remained largely unresearched. Understanding the historical contexts of these rehearsals, known as the pre-performance practices, will illuminate nineteenth-century orchestral practices and help in understanding the gap between historical data and practical implementation. The aim of this project is to illuminate the pre-performance practices of the Philharmonic Society in London and the Royal Prussian Court Orchestra (Königlich Preußische Hofkapelle) as well as its associated ensembles by considering the material, artistic, and social aspects of the pre-performance practices. The dual focus on these ensembles is likely to be particularly effective due to their approximately equal prominence, shared personnel, including Mendelssohn, Spohr, and Meyerbeer, as well as the highly contrasting material, artistic, and social circumstances under which they operated. The material, artistic, and social elements of these pre-performance practices were clearly co-dependent: a change in the material circumstances of the ensemble, for instance, could necessitate changing the musicians who made up the orchestra, and thereby bringing about different artistic goals. Thus, studying these elements is not only likely to find new historical ways of approaching and rehearsing orchestral repertoire, but also how and why these came about. The focus of this project will be on the period from 1813 until 1869, an era vital for the development of orchestral rehearsal practices, and during which the material, artistic, and social elements of the pre-performance practices of both ensembles underwent significant development that can be tracked through a wealth of printed and archival sources. By giving greater insight into this neglected aspect of performance practice, this project’s outcome will be a significant means of overcoming the gap between historical data and current performance practice.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants