DOES MUSIC SOOTHE THE SOUL?

By Jonathan Daniel Gómez‐Zapata, Luis César Herrero‐Prieto, and Beatriz Rodríguez‐Prado

Music is linked to human senses and emotions and is one of the most important manifestations of mankind’s creativity as well as being a factor that forges individual identity and realisation. Music also has implications in an area’s social, cultural and economic configuration, such that it helps to define collective and geographical cultural idiosyncrasy, and may also help to shape long-term economic development. Music can act as a powerful tool for progress and social change since it is particularly suited to dealing with risk factors amongst the young, such as helping to reduce crime levels, fostering peace amongst communities and improving individuals’ socioemotional health and quality of life. Continue reading “DOES MUSIC SOOTHE THE SOUL?” →

July 7, 2020 0

SIEC 2019: THE HAPPY FEW, ALBEIT FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY

By Luis César Herrero-Prieto

Those of us who practise and study in the field of cultural economics often find ourselves being called ‘the happy few’. It is true that there are few of us who are followers if we compare ourselves in number to those in other areas of, let us say, mainstream knowledge in economics, although one does sometimes get the feeling that we make up one tight-knit group with our regular meetings, and it is indeed astonishing to see the enthusiasm of those who form part of this community. Nowhere else can you find scholars who believe so passionately in what they are contributing and in what they are unearthing, probably because what they discover and what they study are linked to feelings and deep-rooted perceptions of human nature such as emotion, beauty or identity. Continue reading “SIEC 2019: THE HAPPY FEW, ALBEIT FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY” →

February 4, 2020 2

MEASURING EMOTION THROUGH QUALITY IN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS

By Mafalda Gómez-Vega and Luis César Herrero-Prieto

Repertoire programming decisions taken by symphony orchestras usually pursue a mixture of aims that embrace both quality and audience success. We also assume there is a link between fineness or brilliance and excitement. Based on these premises, we assess the quality of symphony orchestras by evaluating their musical repertoire using three partial indicators: contemporaneity, most well-known composers, and repertoire originality.

Continue reading “MEASURING EMOTION THROUGH QUALITY IN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS” →

March 12, 2019 0