Study of French Composers (1980)

Investigator: Pierre-Michel Menger

Population: French composers of "serious" music

Identification method: Population consisted of French composers who had received grants intended for the support of serious music at least once from SACEM (French composers’ association), including both "symphonistes" and composers of occasional "serious" works.

Sampling procedure: All eligible composers received a survey.

N and Response rate: N=950. 600 received a mailed survey to which 296 responded. Data on 290 additional composers were gathered from the association and from various public sources yielding an N of 586 composers, of whom 154 were exclusively and 432 were occasionally composers of "serious" music.

Publication. Pierre-Michel Menger. Le Paradoxe du Musicien: Le Compositeur, Le Mélomane et L’Å tat dans la Société Contemporaine. Paris: Flammarion, 1983.

Summary. This is a wide-ranging study of the social position of and social influences on composers of "serious music" (from a constructionist perspective) in France around 1980. The author draws on documentary records, public information, and responses to a survey of composers that requested information about marital status, parental occupation, influences, aesthetic principles, and musical training.