Classical music as ethical practice: A professional perspective

ABSTRACT

This article examines the ethical foundations within classical music performance. It argues that phronesis (practical wisdom) is crucial in navigating the ethical challenges faced by musicians, addressing the tension between distinct normative constraints as well as enhancing musicians’ ethical awareness and decision-making in their practice. Among these ethical concerns is the responsibility to balance respecting the work’s integrity and pursuing originality. On these grounds, we argue further that phronesis serves a broader function, enabling musicians to fulfil effectively their role responsibility to composers, peers, and audiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Musicians
• values
• obligations
• role responsibility
• phronesis

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers of this paper for their insightful comments, which have significantly contributed to improving the final version of the text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chiara Palazzolo

Chiara Palazzolo is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Honors College of the University of Tulsa, (USA), specializing in ethics and music. Previously, she held a postdoctoral position at Roma Tre University. Her doctoral dissertation, ‘Music as Vocation: Ethics and Role Responsibility of the Interpreter,’ explored the role responsibility of musical performers and the ontological presuppositions supporting such responsibility in the realm of Western classical music. Additionally, she is a professional soprano, having graduated from the Conservatory of Parma. Her current research investigates the philosophy and psychology of musical learning and its implications for the virtuous character development. She applies this theory to professional contexts, such as the practice of Western Classical Music, focusing specifically on musical agency, as well as to other educational and professional contexts, encompassing the cultivation of motivation, discipline, and practical wisdom more broadly.

Lisa Giombini

Lisa Giombini is a Research Fellow in Aesthetics at Roma Tre University (Italy), within the Department of Philosophy, Communication, and Performing Arts. She is a member of various philosophical associations in the field of aesthetics and is currently the Secretary General of the International Association for Aesthetics (IAA). Besides a long-term interest in the philosophy and ontology of music, Lisa’s current research focuses on the ethics of cultural heritage conservation, everyday aesthetics, and environmental aesthetics. She is the author of Musical Ontology: A Guide for the Perplexed (2017) and co-editor of Applying Aesthetics to Everyday Life: Methodologies, History, and New Directions (2023) and The Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Architectural Reconstruction (2024).

Both authors contributed equally to the conception and development of this work, and reviewed and approved the final manuscript. However, Chiara Palazzolo authored the following sections: 1. Role Responsibility in Professional Ethics; Phronesis as Deliberative Virtue; 2. Phronesis in Musical Performance. Lisa Giombini authored the following sections: Introduction; 2. The Performer’s Role and Their Responsibilities; 3. Value in Musical Performance; Conclusion.