The Pursuit of High Culture. John Ella and Chamber Music in Victorian London

410pp, illustrations. Heavy book, extra postage will be requested for delivery outside UK. This investigation of the consumption of high musical culture among leisured society in Victorian London focuses on the activities of the concert manager John Ella and his Musical Union (1845-81) , an eminent, long-lived institution for chamber music, much feted across Europe in its day. A biography of Ella is combined with a social- economic history of the Musical Union, its players, repertoire and audiences, set against the gradually shifting contexts for London concerts, chamber music and cultural life.