The Patronage System
The Baroque period, which gifted the world with composers such as Beethoven and Bach and lasted from the 16th until the late 17th hundreds, saw the patronage system as the most common system of employment. According to this system, the composers and musicians were hired by wealthy personas or the church to write specific pieces of work (Davis, 2021). Therefore, the only way for the composers to make a living was by finding a patron that was willing to pay for their works.
Benefits of the System
The most beneficial part of the system was in having a consistent and high income if the composer had a patron. Furthermore, the availability of the music that they composed brought them popularity, allowing them to reach more people and gain more patrons. Some composers, such as Haydn, flourished under the system, keeping their standing before the patron while simultaneously keeping their creativity (Davis, 2021). Furthermore, the income that was provided by the patrons allowed the musicians to focus on their music rather than on surviving, as was the case for Mozart (Davis, 2021). Therefore, depending on the musician, the patronage system could have been beneficial.
Downsides for the Composer
However, there were various downsides to the system for the composers as well. Firstly, getting paid for each work specified by the employer limited the composers’ artistic imagination. The pieces that they composed were dictated by their employers, so the composers were quite limited in how much they could express themselves. Composers such as Beethoven protested such a system for its limitations (Davis, 2021). Nevertheless, the system persisted, and it was left to the musicians and composers to find ways around the systems to keep their creativity and flourish under the limitations.
Reference
Davis, M. (2021). How did composers in the baroque period make a living? Mvorganizing.