Music and Masculinity in the Intellectual Circles of fin-de-siècle Majorca through the Press

Abstract

After the industrial and political changes, and the expansion of the bourgeois classes typical of the mid-nineteenth century, new constructions of gender were promoted linked to the emergence of the working classes, where men were the central axis of the economy and women were relegated to the domestic sphere. These social and cultural changes implied, in turn, a paradigm shift in the professional life of the musician. After the threat of being equated with any worker, the artist promoted recognition of his work, transforming himself into an intellectual confronted with the dominant social habits. For this, the musician used the press as an ally and fostered a partnership between artists, both male and private. This article aims to analyze masculinity in the relationships of men through music associations in the second half of the 19th century in Mallorca, using music criticism as the main source.