Musical Development from a Lifespan Perspective is a collection of 11 papers first presented at the 2002 conference Musical Aptitude from a Lifespan Perspective in Paderborn, Germany. The conference and subsequent publication of some of its papers is timely, and the editor Heiner Gembris, one of the few researchers making significant contributions in this area, comments that ‘the idea that musical development . . . is a lifelong process has hardly evoked any response in music education’ (p. 12). His opening chapter outlines the central questions which enquire about the destiny of musicians after they have finished their musical education and how their careers develop into adulthood. The career development of musicians has been a particular focus in the domain in recent years, reflected in the alumni studies being directed by scholars such as Heiner Gembris (Germany) and the late Janet Mills (UK), and some of their work is presented in this volume. The primary focus of the book is to understand the process and impact of professional musical life with a suggestion that this can, and should, make a significant contribution to the way in which musicians are educated. The book succeeds in the first case, although attention to the practical application of the research in this area is less well considered.

The book is dedicated to Maria Manturzewska, an appropriate choice given her pioneering work in the field, and it is fitting that the first chapter is a reprint of one of her articles which has previously been difficult to access. ‘A Biographical Study of the Lifespan Development of Professional Musicians’, first published in 1995, provides a foundation for many of the themes that are explored throughout the rest of the book, most particularly the characteristics of musicians’ roles throughout the lifespan. Th. Krampe's chapter (‘Musical Expertise from a Lifespan Perspective’) continues this focus (if separated by two chapters), challenging talent theory by revisiting the role of deliberate practice. The research is convincing, and describes the changing needs of musicians throughout the lifespan, addressing the adaptive nature of their practice and skills. This fits perfectly within the remit of the book, providing some much-needed consideration of the implications of aging on professional musicians. The final chapter to consider explicitly a lifespan perspective of development is by Spahn and Richter (‘The Development of the Singing Voice Across the Lifespan’). This chapter examines the changing physiological and psychological demands placed upon the singer throughout the lifespan. Unlike most of the chapters in this book, Spahn and Richter present a theoretical paper, reviewing existing research in the area. The authors provide some recommendations for singers’ career management by discussing the relatively short duration of singers’ careers, the support they require, the nature of the teacher-student relationship, and personality shaping. This chapter would have been enhanced by some empirical evidence or at least some indication of how this research could develop and be applied in the education of singers.

Interwoven between the chapters considering the lifespan development of musicians are others on job satisfaction. Olbertz's chapter (‘Job Satisfaction of Professional Orchestra Musicians’) presents a study investigating the disparity between training in music academies and the orchestral profession, and the relationship between input and output (payment, appreciation, career) for orchestral musicians. The findings are surprisingly positive and optimistic, highlighting high levels of career satisfaction amongst musicians, and pointing to the significance of intrinsic motivation. This is an interesting study, although the conclusions are disappointing and simplistic: more speculation about the implications for educators, conductors, the workplace and managing expectations would have enhanced the chapter. Some of these themes are considered in a complementary chapter written by Koch (‘Musical Career: Dream or Nightmare?’) and therefore it was surprising that these two chapters were not presented consecutively. Koch describes research which follows up the Leben für Musik study carried out by Bastian in the 1980s. This is a potentially rich source of data, but unfortunately it does not seem to be adequately represented here. Like most of the chapters in this book it is very short, and the reporting of data through two case studies means that a comprehensive overview of the project is not provided. In line with the findings reported by Olbertz, the study reveals that a high number of the musicians were successful in achieving their dream career or were highly successful in other domains. Musicians’ success is attributed to their strength and determination and their ability to keep their goals in focus. There is little acknowledgement of other influential factors or the extent to which these case studies reflect general thematic trends across the entire sample.

Two of the chapters dealing with musicians’ career destinations are by Gembris and Langer (‘What are Instrumentalists Doing after Graduating from the Music Academy?’ and ‘What are Singers Doing after Leaving the Music Academy?’) and focus on the job market in Germany, reporting different components of the same project. The first is the longest chapter in the book (aside from the reprint of Manturzewska's article) and therefore is able to provide a detailed account of the study. The report of the data is engaging and complements the earlier chapters on German orchestral musicians and career satisfaction. The discussion of the musicians’ perceptions of where their education failed was particularly insightful and the implications addressed in response to this finding are timely. Of all the chapters in the book this presents a complete picture of the demands of professional instrumentalists, mainly focusing on the quantitative approach. The triangulation of the views of students, teachers and the industry provides a balanced viewpoint and insight into the demands and practicalities of the suggestions proposed here. The second of their chapters focuses on singers and it seems strange that they do not draw parallels between the two groups – if only to highlight the similarities between their perceptions of support and success and the lack of value being attributed to transferable skills by German music academies. The chapter is brief and the discussion concise, presumably because it is placed after the previous, more detailed, chapter on instrumentalists, but this is quite frustrating as the research is valuable and there is scope for greater consideration of the implications and practicalities of the proposals within the context of German music academies.

A complementary chapter written by Mills and Smith (‘Working in Music: Becoming Successful’) precedes the German research by describing the career destinations of musicians in the UK. Mills and Smith present the initial findings of the Working in Music project based at the Royal College of Music in London. The report focuses on the comparison between career ambition and eventual destination, presenting this in the framework of career identities. The discussion also considers a historical interpretation of how jobs within the professional music industry are changing – from single jobs in 1975 to portfolio careers in the 21^st century. The chapter fits within the overall aims for the book although like other chapters in this book it is frustratingly short and would have benefited from greater detail.

Overall, the chapters described so far fit quite clearly within the aims of the book and have relevance for understanding the lifespan development of musicians. There are two chapters, however, that fit less coherently. I was pleased to see that the chapter by Hemming (‘Giftedness, Talent and the Development of Rock and Pop Musicians’) attempts to consider rock and pop musicians. The study aims to ‘illustrate the relationship among giftedness, talent, and development on the one hand and self-concept on the other’ (p.81) in the context of jazz, rock and popular musicians. The details of the study are brief – more information about the age and careers of the participants is necessary, for example, to understand the implications of the research for a book on lifespan development of musicians. There was also scope here for more consideration of the implications of the results as these are addressed only briefly and require much more clarity.

Equally incongruous in this context, is the chapter by Maas (‘Beyond Fame and Failure: Musical Careers in Feature Films’). Maas examines the way in which musicians are portrayed in films because ‘film becomes a valuable starting point for the analysis of culture, for tracing the construction of cultural meaning through its representational form’ (Turner, 1991, cited in Maas, p. 175). The examples given reflect common stereotypes surrounding musicians – such as talents and giftedness, the role of teachers, commitment and dedication to an art, and the plight of the musician in older age. This nicely draws on some of the themes to emerge throughout the book, though lying outside the main focus on real-life experiences of musicians. This chapter does not contribute much to the overall message of the book, but in reinforcing some of the themes discussed throughout, it is an entertaining conclusion.

Overall, Musical Development from a Lifespan Perspective is a much needed and welcome addition to the discipline which represents an area of increasing attention within the field of music psychology. Despite short chapters that too much reflect their origins as conference papers, the content of the book is mostly coherent and provides a decent overview of some of the significant work being carried out in this field at the moment.