Power and Music : The Society of Swedish Composers on the Field of Art Music 1919-1939

The aim of the thesis is to examine the power of organized composers of art music in interwar Sweden and their development of areas of interest 1919-1939. The period is chosen due to the 1918 founding of the Society of Swedish Composers (the FST). Although of significant value, most of the previous research on the subject has focused on individual composers. The thesis, instead, combines concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural fields with power theories of Steven Lukes and Walter Korpi to investigate access to power resources and exercise of power within the field of music by the FST and its members 1919-1939. The results show that the FST of 1939 had greater access to economic capital, which correlated with the expansion of the FST’s exercise of power and areas of interest concerning the whole field of Swedish music, rather than exclusively the field of art music. Social networks tied to the FST, however, never ceased to be an important factor influencing the operations of the FST.