I. Status : "you are a God-man, the true artist by God's grace": The musician as slave and servant
Handel, Haydn and the liberation of the musician
Mozart, Beethoven and the perils of the public sphere
the musician as Charismatic Hero
Richard Wagner and the apotheosis of the musician
The triumph of the musician in the modern World
II. Purpose : "music is the most romantic of all the arts": Louis XIV and the assertion of power
Opera and the representation of social status
Bach, Handel and the worship of God
Concerts and the public sphere
The secularisation of society, the sacralisation of music
Beethoven as hero and genius
The invention of classical music
III. Places and spaces : from palace to stadium: Churches and opera houses
Concerts in pubs and palaces
Concert halls and the sacralisation of music
Two ways of elevating music
The democratisation of musical space
Places and spaces for the masses
IV. Technology : from Stradivarius to Stratocaster: Musical gas and other inventions
Pianos for the middle classes
Valves, keys and saxophones
The electrification of youth culture
The triumph of technology
V. Liberation : nation, people, sex: National pride and prejudice
Rule Britannia? Aux armes, citoyens!
Deutschland, Deutschland fiber alles
From the woods and meadows of Bohemia
