The Internet and Transitions of Institutionality in Art Music: Case Study of the Internet Music Competition, an online music competition by the Teacher Association of Primary and Secondary Music Schools in Serbia

Abstract

In this paper, we are analyzing in what ways transition of music competition as an important institution in the world of Art music to digital world of the Internet is changing how we understand some important aspects of music performance and music excellence. The paper deals with a case study of the Internet Music Competition, an online music competition founded in 2011 by Udruženje pedagoga osnovnih i srednjih muzičkih škola Srbije (Teacher Association of Primary and Secondary Music Schools in Serbia). This new form of music competition mirrors many aspects specific for the Internet as a communication medium, and as such represents an interesting case of transitions that Art music goes through in the Information age, as well as possibilities and opportunities that the Internet as a medium brings forth. It opens important question of value and characteristics of digital sound in music performance. Is it possible to get a clear impression of artistic and music excellence through a digitally recorded sound? What is being evaluated in an online performance, and what is lost with digital sound? This kind of interdisciplinary study is significant both for understanding heterogeneous transitions of Art music discourses which are happening on a global scale, together with beginning to question and analyze the specifics of Serbian society and culture as part of the new digital, information age.