Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanism of the construction of the idea of "Art for art's sake" in modern European society, from the viewpoint of the commodification of classical music. We shall consider the case of Beethoven, who is generally regarded as a model of Art for art's sake in the history of classical music, and analyze his biographies and letters, with reference to the method of Norbert Elias's study of Mozart. First, we examine Beethoven's ideas on music or musicians, ideas which are considered to represent the autonomy of music. Next, we analyze in greater detail the mechanism by which he learned to show such ideas, focusing on his musical activities: criticism, publications and concerts. From this analysis we demonstrate that, in parallel with his ambivalent attitude, the more his music was publicized and commercialized, the more his performance was heightened and purified. In this "twisted structure," we shall point out that it is from such beginnings that the Art for Art's Sake movement was generated. Finally, applying the discussions of the sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Georg Simmel to this result, we conclude that the Art for art's sake ideal has a complementary relationship to the commodification of music. Overall, we illustrate one aspect of the phenomenon called the "modernization of music" in terms of the relationship between Art and commodification.
