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An Integrative Guide to Consumer Neuroscience
 An Integrative Guide to
Consumer Neuroscience
S V EN B RAE UTIGAM AN D P ETER KEN N IN G

1
 3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
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It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
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© Oxford University Press 2022
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
First Edition published in 2022
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above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021951874
ISBN 978–​0–​19–​878993–​2
DOI: 10.1093/​oso/​9780198789932.001.0001
Printed in Great Britain by
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Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the
drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check
the product information and clinical procedures with the most up-​to-​date
published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers
and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and
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contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
To Brigitte

To Maren
Contents

Preface ix
Abbreviations xi

1. The Road to Consumer Neuroscience 1

2. Cognitive Processes and Behaviours 13
3. The Human Brain 32
4. Mathematical Concepts 53
5. Neuroscience Technologies 80
6. Analytical Approaches 107
7. Individual Consumer Neuroscience 136
8. Social Consumer Neuroscience 146
9. Commercial Consumer Neuroscience 155
10. Gender-​Related Aspects of Consumer Neuroscience 169
11. Translational Consumer Neuroscience 188
12. Ethics of Consumer Neuroscience 211
13. Future Directions 221

Appendix 229
References 237
Index 265
Preface

These are complex and challenging times, but also extraordinarily interesting and
exciting times, at least from a scientific perspective. As never before, interdiscipli-
nary research is growing across the spectrum, blurring entrenched boundaries that
have existed for hundreds of years while simultaneously building new and diverse
avenues of exploration and thinking. This is perhaps most visible at the junction of
economics, neuroscience, and mathematics, where scholars and practitioners alike
draw on a vast array of theories and experimental approaches in order to understand
the mechanisms and hidden rules underlying and perhaps determining econom-
ically relevant behaviour. A critical, if not the most important, ingredient in these
endeavours are modern brain imaging technologies, which have become sufficiently
accessible and manageable to allow efficient cooperation of researchers coming from
varied backgrounds.
Out of these new developments, the ‘oldest’ academically advanced interdiscipline,
is neuroeconomics, which attempts to systematically integrate neuroscience and ec-
onomics, where the aim is a unified, biology-​based theory of human behaviour. One
might be tempted to argue that the application of neuroimaging brings extra com-
plexity to the study of an already difficult problem. This, however, seems not to be
an issue, where growing evidence suggests that modern brain scanning facilitates a
better understanding of the mechanistic processes that subserve human behaviours
and interactions within an economic setting. Following this lead, the field of con-
sumer neuroscience is gaining momentum, and this is what this book is about.
The need for consumer neuroscience derives from the observation that the con-
sumption of goods and services is one of the main drivers of industrialized societies,
critically influencing the overall structure, wealth, and functioning of a nation.
The study of consumer behaviour is complex, ranging from individual to societal
aspects, from the outright commercial to issues of population health. Moreover, the
modern world faces challenges of possibly epic proportions, and humans will need
to address issues of sustainability (of consumption) along more than one dimension.
We strongly feel that any meaningful attempt to advance will necessarily be founded
on rigorous science, and we endeavour here to provide an integrative guide to con-
sumer neuroscience.
In this guide, we have made efforts to balance depth and breadth of material while
tracing the foundations, technologies and methodologies, applications, translational
aspects, and ethics of consumer neuroscience. Given the strong, albeit not exclu-
sive, reliance of the field on neurotechnologies, we have opted for a detailed exposi-
tion of the relevant technologies beyond the often short and sometimes simplifying
descriptions found in textbooks and articles. To this end, we have included a chapter
entirely dedicated to the mathematical concepts related to the measurement,
x Preface

analysis, and interpretation of neuroimaging data. The purpose of this chapter is

to enable students and consumer researchers with, potentially, limited exposure to
mathematics to build towards a deeper understanding of physical and technological
aspects of consumer neuroscience.
Assuming a primarily scientific and descriptive perspective, this book aims at the
aspiring student, the consumer researcher, as well as the marketing practitioner, al-
though this is not a recipe book that could be applied in a straightforward way to
practical problems. Notably, the emphasis here is on enabling the reader to form
an independent view of consumer neuroscience, and perhaps carry out their own
research or refine their practical approach. The reader is explicitly encouraged to
dive deeper into the field and actively help to further chart the territory of consumer
behaviour with respect to experimental approaches and the consolidation of theories.
In writing this book, we have made attempts to reduce chapter interdependencies
without introducing excessive redundancy. As a consequence, some form of reduc-
tionism has been unavoidable on occasion.
We would like to thank Janine Fisher, Jade Dixon and team at Oxford University
Press as well as the team at Newgen Knowledge Works for their patience, advice, and
continuous support in this matter. Our thanks go to the Department of Business
Administration, Management and Marketing, University of Düsseldorf, and the
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, for facilitating mutual visits. We
thank Mirja Hubert and Carina Hütte for collating various material and providing
help with the literature database as well as administrative tasks.

Düsseldorf and Oxford, 2021

Abbreviations

AN anorexia nervosa
ANN artificial neural network
ANS autonomic nervous system
AW approach–​withdrawal
BA Brodmann area
BOLD blood oxygenation level dependent
CBD compulsive buying disorder
CMRR common-​mode rejection ratio
CNS central nervous system
COMT catechol-​ O-​methyltransferase
CR conditioned response
CS conditioned stimulus
DCM dynamic causal modelling
DHT dihydrotestosterone
DM decision maker
DNA deoxyribonucleic acid
DOT diffuse optical tomography
EEG electroencephalography
EI emotional index
EPSP excitatory postsynaptic potential
FID free induction decay
fMRI functional magnetic resonance imaging
fNIRS functional near-​infrared spectroscopy
FT Fair Trade
GABA gamma-​aminobutyric acid
GLM general linear model
HMM hidden Markov model
HRF haemodynamic response function
ICA independent component analysis
IPSP inhibitory postsynaptic potential
LR logistic regression
MA mathematical anxiety
MEG magnetoencephalography
MR magnetic resonance
MRI magnetic resonance imaging
mRNA messenger ribonucleic acid
NIR near-​infrared
NMR nuclear magnetic resonance
NMSBA Neuromarketing Science and Business Association
OPC oligodendrocyte progenitor cell
PCA principal component analysis
PLV phase locking value
PNS peripheral nervous system
xii Abbreviations
QZE quantum Zeno effect
RF radiofrequency
rTMS repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation
SHOP Savings Hold or Purchase
SMH somatic marker hypothesis
SNP single nucleotide polymorphism
S-​O-​R stimulus–​organism–​response
SQUID superconducting quantum interference device
S-​R stimulus–​response
SSVEP steady-​state visually evoked potential
tACS transcranial alternating current stimulation
TD temporal difference
tDCS transcranial direct current stimulation
tES transcranial electric stimulation
TMS transcranial magnetic stimulation
TPJ temporoparietal junction
tRNS transcranial random noise stimulation
UCS unconditioned stimulus
WOM word of mouth
WTA willingness to accept
WTP willingness to pay
1
The Road to Consumer Neuroscience

Within perhaps the last 20 years, under the label of ‘consumer neuroscience’, a
new direction in consumer and marketing research emerged. The idea is to use
insights and methods from neuroscience to better understand consumer behaviour.
Assuming that the audience is mainly unfamiliar with this research direction, the
goal of this introduction is to provide an overview of the definition, the goal, and the
origin of consumer neuroscience. In addition, in this chapter we will briefly sketch
the structure of our comprehensive guide.

1.1 What Is Consumer Neuroscience?

I don’t need to know anything about the hippopotamus.

Unknown Economist

Within recent years, academic research focusing on the interface between

neurosciences, psychology, and economics has experienced a considerable in-
crease in importance (Foxall et al., 1998; Plassmann et al., 2015). The results of
these scientific investigations were embedded in the discovery and development
of new research areas, which today are referred to as neuro-​finance, neuro-​leader-
ship, consumer neuroscience, decision neuroscience, neuroeconomics, and even
neuromarketing (Plassmann et al., 2015; Shiv et al., 2005). The common objective
of these research works is to integrate neuroscientific findings, theories, concepts,
and—​probably above all—​methods into the respective economic subdiscipline
(Kenning and Plassmann, 2005; Plassmann et al., 2015). Despite their increasing im-
portance, however, there is still a lack of scientifically substantiated, monographic
textbooks that would allow these new developments to be systematically integrated
into the mostly economic curricula, and thus create an introduction to the subject.
The necessity of systematic integration stems from the fact that human behaviour is
based largely on biological processes. It is therefore not unlikely that a progressive un-
derstanding of the biology underlying human behaviour could provide an opportunity
to better understand and predict human behaviour—​and thus also consumer and buyer
behaviour (Eibl-​Eibesfeldt, 1997; Plassmann et al., 2015). According to this brain-​as-​pre-
dictor hypothesis, it is assumed that neural processes and certain brain structures play a
major role in this (Berkman and Falk 2012). Hence, these processes and structures are in
focus here. However, customer, buyer, and consumer behaviour have been examined pri-
marily from a psychological perspective in recent years. In this context, the human brain

An Integrative Guide to Consumer Neuroscience. Sven Braeutigam and Peter Kenning, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2022.
DOI: 10.1093/​oso/​9780198789932.003.0001
2 An Integrative Guide to Consumer Neuroscience

was metaphorically regarded as a ‘black box’ (Smidts et al., 2014). The ongoing processes
therein were reconstructed theoretically (Howard and Sheth, 1969) and recorded indi-
rectly (e.g. through surveys). Today, however, modern techniques and procedures from
the fields of radiology and biology allow a direct view into the living brain (Kenning et
al., 2007a; Plassmann et al., 2015). Specifically, this holds for the so-​called neuroimaging
techniques (Plassmann et al., 2007a; Riedl et al., 2010b).
In general, consumer neuroscience can be seen as a subfield of neuroeconomics
(Plassmann et al., 2015). The aim of neuroeconomic research is the neurobiolog-
ical explanation of human behaviour and the development of a ‘unified theory of
human behaviour’ (Camerer et al., 2005; Foxall, 2008; Glimcher and Rustichini,
2004; Kenning and Plassmann, 2005). In this endeavour, consumer neuroscience
can explicitly be defined as the systematic integration of neuroscientific theories,
methods, and concepts into consumer research (Fugate, 2007; Grosenick et al.,
2008; Lee et al., 2007). In business practice, but even in academic research, the term
‘neuromarketing’ is often used to identify this development, but the label may be a
misnomer (Hubert and Kenning, 2008; Levalois, 2019; Lim, 2018). The term ‘mar-
keting’ is defined as market-​orientated corporate management. Accordingly, the
term ‘retail marketing’ describes the concept of market-​orientated management of
retailers. The branch of service marketing is concerned with the market-​orientated
management of service companies. Given these exemplary uses for the term mar-
keting, the notion of neuromarketing poses an impractical ambiguity because,
strictly speaking, the term neuromarketing would be the market-​oriented man-
agement of neurons. We therefore distinguish between consumer neuroscience as
the scientific basis of this approach, and neuromarketing as the application of the
findings from consumer neuroscience within the scope of managerial practice.
In order to present a guide to consumer neuroscience that is both integrative and
accessible to a wider audience, this book is conceptually organized in three parts,
although these are not explicitly declared. In the first part, comprising this and the
following two chapters, important biological, neurophysiological, cognitive, and
behavioural concepts are discussed. This first part makes only a limited number of
forward references to later chapters and is an essential read for anyone new to the
field of consumer neuroscience. The next three chapters cover, to a considerable
depth, relevant mathematical, physical, technological, and analytical concepts. This
part can be read independently of the rest of the book, but there are some moderate
dependencies: Chapter 4 → Chapter 5 → Chapter 6. Readers with little or no prior
exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula
are encouraged to allocate some time and study this part in detail. Note that in this
part, relevant citations are provided as reading selections following each subsection
instead of inline (‘cite-​as-​you-​write’) citations as in the rest of the book.
The following six chapters constitute the third part, discussing established applica-
tion domains, emergent research fields, translational aspects, and the ethics of con-
sumer neuroscience. The structure of these chapters recognizes the distinction made
in economics between decision theory and game theory, the practitioner’s intention
 The Road to Consumer Neuroscience 3

to apply research results for business and/​or sales purposes, and the observation that
consumer neuroscience both has an impact on and is influenced by other research
fields, such as organizational sciences, age research, and cultural analysis. Although
attempts have been made to reduce dependencies, the material covered in the third
part draws, at times heavily, on the preceding parts. Finally, a short outline of future
directions of consumer neuroscience in research and practice is presented in the last
chapter. Overall, the book adopts a primarily scientific and descriptive perspective
with the aim to provide the reader with a solid picture of the situations in which con-
sumer neuroscience can make a meaningful contribution to solving practical and/​or
normative issues, thereby not negating the importance and appropriateness of clas-
sical approaches and concepts (Fugate, 2007; Lee et al., 2007).

1.2 A Brief History of Consumer Research

The emergence of consumer neuroscience is closely connected to consumer behaviour

research, whose history of origins is related to the development of economic sciences
and especially marketing. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, economists
recognized that predominating purchasing-​power models cannot sufficiently ex-
plain consumer behaviour. At the same time, complementary psychological models
and constructs such as attitudes or motives gained in importance. In this context, con-
sumer behaviour was more and more understood to be a complex interaction of eco-
nomic variables (such as prices) and psychological variables (such as brand image).
Even then, it was recognized that a theory based only on economic and psychological
variables is too imprecise to explain the many facets of consumer behaviour. Therefore,
a more interdisciplinary approach to investigate consumer behaviour, such as by
amending social aspects (e.g. role concepts or system theory), was emphasized.
Nonetheless, during its foundation phase, marketing research focused on eco-
nomic theories that primarily considered aspects of distribution policy (Wilkie and
Moore, 2003). It corresponded to the zeitgeist that economic research of psycholog-
ical provenance basically tried to explain the observable behaviour of customers and
consumers with the help of behaviouristic approaches. With the discovery of the
conditioned reflexes by Ivan Pavlov, behavioural scientists got the opportunity to:

experiment following the example of classical, exact natural sciences and many
psychologists cherished a hope to have found the components of behaviour from which
one can construct the colourful cosmos of behaviour. (Eibl-​Eibesfeldt, 1997, p. 15)

The idea of behaviourism is ultimately based on John Locke’s1 assumption that the
human mind is a blank slate at birth and subsequently filled in by personal experience

1 An influential seventeenth-​century English philosopher and physician. Note the term behaviourism was coined

in the early twentieth century.

4 An Integrative Guide to Consumer Neuroscience

derived from sense perception, implying that human behaviour can completely be
explained as reactions to external stimuli (Skinner, 1978). In this regard, humans
are assumed to be passively responding to the environment. Thus, it is possible to
condition human behaviour in the desired way with rewards and punishments. Even
then, the assumption of a given human nature ran the danger of being disqualified
from being a biological determinist or reductionist (Eibl-​Eibesfeldt, 1997). At the
same time, in anthropology, a cultural relativism emerged that defined culture as
independent from biology and thus also disconnected culture from neurobiology.
In recent years, this approach found its antithesis in so-​called cultural neuroscience
(Chiao et al., 2013), which is in turn confronted with collectivistic concepts and the-
ories (e.g. concept of distributed cognition).
The behaviourism investigated the coherence between environment (stimulus)
and observable behaviour (reaction) with the help of clearly defined experiments
(Plomin et al., 1990). The aim was to scientifically describe behaviour by exclu-
sively applying natural scientific methods. The organism was—​according to
B.F. Skinner—​regarded as a ‘black box’, because it was not possible to directly
observe internal psychological or physiological processes. Instead, behaviour
was considered as a function of a given stimulus (stimulus–​response model (S-​R
model)) (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). It is obvious that due to methodological
constraints at this time, neurobiological methods and techniques did not have a
descriptive relevance.
An important concept of economic research was the idea that people always be-
have rationally. Thus, economic research assumed that, according to the model,
people behave in a reasonable way. Closely related to this assumption is the idea of
the Homo oeconomicus which has often been rebutted in recent years and which
was wrongly objurgated. It has often been ignored that it is a straw man argument.
In fact, the idea of the Homo oeconomicus can not only be applied on a descriptive
level, but rather on an ethical or practical-​normative level. In this view, the predica-
tion is not how people actually behave, but how they should behave in certain situ-
ations from an economical point of view (Jacoby, 2002). Today this discussion can
be seen to be resolved. In this context the German marketing researchers Richard
Köhler and Manfred Bruhn come to the following postcritical result: ‘Even experi-
mental game theory moved away from the idea of the Homo oeconomicus. In this
regard, it would be desirable if critics of economic disciplines eventually register that
for decades the idea of the Homo oeconomicus is not object of economics anymore’
(Köhler and Bruhn, 2010, p. 5).
With the postulate of market-​oriented management, consumer behaviour re-
search was more and more acknowledged to be an important theoretical basis of
marketing management. The idea spread quickly and can today be considered as
commonly accepted. In 1969, the Association for Consumer Research was founded,
and the first consumer behaviour textbooks and courses appeared in the late 1960s
(Engel et al., 1968; Kassarjian and Robertson, 1968). In these early days of con-
sumer research, the most important frameworks were comprehensive models of
 The Road to Consumer Neuroscience 5

consumer behaviour, which were thought to be ‘processual one-​way streets’ (Engel

et al., 1968; Howard and Sheth, 1969; Nicosia, 1966). These models of consumer
behaviour primarily focused on activities associated with satisfying consumer
needs and were based on the theoretical (re-​)construction of processes inside the
black box. In contrast to the S-​R models, these stimulus–​organism–​response (S-​O-​
R) models modelled processes inside the organism more systematically with the
help of theoretical considerations. Today, S-​O-​R models are still known and signif-
icant (Fig. 1.1).
In the literature, partial models of consumer behaviour which only concentrate
on single psychological factors that influence the decision-​making process (e.g. acti-
vating components, involvement, etc.) can be differentiated from total models that
try to explain all of the non-​observable processes inside the consumer. These total
models had a certain educational value, because they convey an impression about
the complexity of consumer behaviour. However, these total models were also very
confusing. Furthermore, they suggested a static deterministic mechanic that—​as far
as we can see—​does not exist in reality.
However, a very important total model of consumer behaviour is the model of
Howard and Sheth (1969) that explains cognitive, controlled decisions in a purchase
situation by arranging different variables in certain ways. The model distinguishes
between three groups of variables: observable input (S) and output (R) variables and
the non-​observable hypothetical constructs (I) which reflect the buyer’s internal
state. The hypothetical constructs can be divided into perceptual constructs that are
involved in information processing and learning constructs that are associated with

Input (Stimuli) Organism (Black Box) Output (Responses)

Si Oj Rk

• Demography (e.g. age, The decision-making process

gender) and socio- is influenced by:
economic characteristics of
the person (e.g. education, Cognition
income) • Perception • Product choice
• Social environment and • Thinking • Brand choice
social influences (e.g. • Learning • Choice of shopping
reference persons, opinion location
leaders, role models) • Choice of purchase
• Economic environment time
(e.g. the provider’s price Affects • Purchase quantity
conception) • Emotions
• Motives
• Etc.

Observable (manifest) Unobservable (latent) Observable (manifest)

Fig. 1.1 A stimulus–​organism–​response (S-​O-​R) model.

Data from Kotler, Armstrong (2009).
6 An Integrative Guide to Consumer Neuroscience

Intention

Overt Confidence
search

Attitude

Stimulus
ambiguity Choice Brand
Motives criteria comprehension

Perceptual
Attention bias Satisfaction

Perceptual constructs Learning constructs

Flow of information
Feedback effects

Fig. 1.2 The Howard–​Sheth model.

concept formation. Fig. 1.2 depicts the intervening variables inside the organism.
Beside the input and the output variables there are exogenous variables that con-
struct the frame of the purchase process, but are not directly included in the model
(Howard and Sheth, 1969).
Another relevant total model of buying behaviour is the approach of Engel and
colleagues (Engel et al., 1978, 1995). They differentiated between extensive, lim-
ited, impulsive, and habituated buying-​decision types that vary in the degree of in-
volvement and risk perception of the consumer. In this model, the decision-​making
process can be classified into consecutive phases. The starting point is the need rec-
ognition defined as the difference between the target state and the actual condition.
If the consumer recognized this difference as a problem, the next phase—​the search
for information—​begins. The decision-​making process is completed with the last
phase—​the evaluation of different alternatives.
A further approach to model consumer decision-​making and to illuminate the
intervening variables is the decision-​net approach of James Bettman (1974). This
model constructs networks that graphically depict consumer behaviour. To iden-
tify these networks, typically, an interviewer accompanies the purchase process of
a customer and records everything that the customer experiences and consciously
notices in order to create networks that reflect purchase behaviour. The aim is to
develop a theoretical structure of the black box by directly collecting empirical data
and to spontaneously record cognitive processes (Bettman, 1974).
 The Road to Consumer Neuroscience 7

Besides these exemplary models that attempt to theoretically construct the

processes inside the organism, technological progress, especially within the med-
ical radiological sector, led at the beginning of this century to new possibilities to
measure processes inside the head of the consumer (Zaltman, 2000). Even though
the whole body of the consumer may be of relevance for explaining behaviour, early
researchers primarily focussed on processes inside the brain. It was assumed that the
brain is the central organ for decision-​making and that it influences human behav-
iour to a great extent. Thus, there is a legitimate reason to assume that a better under-
standing of processes inside the brain will lead to a better understanding of human
behaviour and human purchase behaviour (Kenning and Plassmann, 2005). This
hope is manifested in the so-​called brain-​as-​predictor hypothesis. This hypothesis
was used by Berkman and Falk (2013) for the first time and can best be described by
the following quote (p. 45):

One goal . . . is, to understand and predict human behaviour. Psychologists have tradition-
ally used self-​report measures and performance on laboratory tasks to achieve this end.
However, these measures are limited . . . We argue that current neuroscientific knowledge
has reached a point where it can complement other existing psychological measures in
predicting behaviour and other important outcomes.

1.3 The Origins of Consumer Neuroscience

Efforts to include biological components are not new in consumer research. In fact,
some prominent consumer researchers referred early on to the significance of neu-
roscience and its methodological possibilities (Kroeber-​Riel, 1979). At that time,
physiological processes have been detected with different traditional measurement
methods. For example, the first studies to apply electroencephalography (EEG) to
marketing relevant subjects appeared in the 1970s (Krugman, 1971). However, in
general, consumer research has treated biological processes that determine con-
sumer behaviour only marginally for a very long time. Saad (2008) even talks about
a ‘collective amnesia of marketing scholars regarding consumers’ biological and evo-
lutionary roots’. Recent developments in the area of neuroeconomics and consumer
neuroscience prove that marketing research has succeeded in overcoming this am-
nesia (Camerer et al., 2005; Kenning et al., 2007a; Plassmann et al., 2015).
In neuroeconomics, one of the first economic and methodical relevant studies was
conducted by Alan Sanfey and colleagues and was concerned with neural processes
related to decisions during the ultimatum game (Sanfey et al., 2003). This study re-
vealed the potential of neuroeconomics to better explain economic behaviour. It
still has a high impact and has been cited more than 4000 times according to google
scholar.
The principle of the ultimatum game is the following scenario: two players are
asked to share a certain amount of money (e.g. 10€) by mutual agreement. In the
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for the piano, its literature is far more voluminous than that of any
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Modern representatives of piano style may be classed as follows:
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chiefly for its own sake; as for example, Kalkbrenner, Herz, Henselt,
Döhler, Thalberg, Dreyschock, Litolff and Liszt in the earlier period
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Czerny, Moscheles, Kullak and Wieck. 4. Virtuosos who unite great
technique with remarkable powers of interpretation, like Tausig, Von
Bülow and others. 5. Composers who are likewise great virtuosos and
interpreters, like Liszt and Rubinstein.
 FRANZ ABT.

(See page 597.)

Between 1830 and 1840 piano virtuosity as regards mere technical

execution was at its height. Kalkbrenner, Herz, and other “finger
knights” created furore everywhere by their pyrotechnic feats. This
was the era of the “opera fantasia.” Let us be thankful that audiences
nowadays demand a different kind of musical pabulum. Thalberg
(1812–71) marks the highest attainment of this style. He was pre-
eminent for his finished execution and rich singing quality of tone.
His scales, octaves, arpeggios, trills, and every detail of technique
were of marvellous perfection. His style influenced a number of
pianists, as for example, Leopold de Meyer, Goria, Döhler, Willmers
and Prudent.
Under Thalberg, Liszt, Tausig, Rubinstein, Paderewski, etc., piano
virtuosity has reached its apex. Mr. Ernst Pauer, the noted pianist
and editor of “Alte Clavier Musik,” justly observes: “With regard to
rapidity, force, ingenuity of combinations, and dazzling effect, it is
not too much to assert that the highest point has been gained, and
that with respect to quantity of notes and effects our present players
are unrivalled; whether the quality is as good as it formerly was may
be questioned.”
The world-wide influence of Chopin and Liszt on piano style is
discussed in special articles of this work.
In the time of Bach and Handel the organ was the foremost
instrument as the exponent of musical ideas even more than the
pianoforte is during the present century. To-day it has its own high
place in the temple of art, and counts among its devotees artists of
great repute and dignity. During the present century German
organists have followed the school of Sebastian Bach, of whom the
most prominent are Rink, Johann Schneider, Hesse, Fischer, Thiele,
Haupt, Ritter, Becker, Merkel, Herzog, Faisst and Rheinberger.
August Haupt and Johann Schneider were remarkable interpreters
of Bach’s organ works. The former was also a rare teacher, beloved
and venerated by his American and German pupils. The most
important organ compositions of modern German masters are the
difficult and massive concert pieces of Thiele, and the noble sonatas,
etc., of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Ritter, Merkel and Rheinberger.
In solo violin playing Germany at first followed the lead of Italy.
Mention has been made of the most noted German violinists of the
last century. About the beginning of the present century Paris was
the centre of violin playing under Viotti, Rode, Kreutzer and Baillot.
These masters laid down the principles of violin playing as practised
to-day. They were followed by Alard, the modern French teacher,
and the so-called Belgian school of De Beriot, Vieuxtemps,
Wieniawski and others. As regards finish, brilliancy of style, and
purity of tone these Franco-Belgian masters have had a strong
influence on Germany. In violin playing Spohr is considered as the
direct heir of Rode and Viotti. The contemporaries of Spohr in
Germany were Schuppanzigh, Mayseder, Maurer, Molique, Lipinski
and others, all of whom contributed to violin literature. Spohr’s most
distinguished pupil was Ferdinand David (1810–73). He was eclectic
and many-sided in his taste and knowledge. As regards technique
and style he set high value on the French masters of the violin. He
was the first to play Bach’s difficult violin solos in public. Among his
numerous pupils was the famous virtuoso, Wilhelmj, who is
unsurpassed for his wonderful tone and execution. Joachim also
benefited by David’s advice.
The violin school, of Vienna, founded by Joseph Boehm (1798–
1876), has had a wide influence in training virtuosos. Ernst, G.
Helmesberger, Ludwig Strauss, Joachim, J. Helmesberger, Auer and
Neruda were trained in this school. Pupils of Pixis at Prague were the
renowned violinists Kalliwoda and Ferdinand Laub (1832–74). The
latter was a wonderful quartet player, and stood in the front rank as a
virtuoso.
Joseph Joachim (born 1831) is the most eminent of living
violinists. He has had the widest influence of any violin master as an
interpreter of the great masters. Perfect technique, a rich and full
tone, purity and elevation of style, and fidelity of interpretation are
the leading characteristics of Joachim as a violinist. It may be said of
Joachim, as of Liszt, that he not only interprets but recreates the
music of the great masters. He is equally great as a quartet player
and as a soloist. Joachim’s compositions are chiefly for the violin.
His style is grave and earnest, and suggestive of Schumann. His most
important work is the “Hungarian Concerto,” which has noble
characteristics.
The most noted masters of the violoncello are Bernhard Romberg
(1767–1841), Kummer (1797–1879), and his successor in the Dresden
orchestra, Grützmacher (born 1832), and the virtuoso composers,
Popper, Davidoff and De Swert.
 PETER CORNELIUS.

From a photograph by Albert, of Munich.

(See page 600.)

Among the many fine solo players on wind instruments were the
renowned clarinetists, Joseph Baermann (1784–1847) and his son
Carl (1811–1885). Von Weber was intimately associated with the
elder Baermann, and wrote for him the fine clarinet concertos and
concert pieces which have become classical. The high artistic
character and ability of this family of musicians is exemplified in the
person of the thorough musician and gifted pianist, Carl Baermann,
Junior. He was formerly professor at the Munich Royal
Conservatory, and is now a resident of Boston, where he exerts a
noble influence as concert pianist and teacher. Germany has not
produced so many singers of world-wide fame as composers or
virtuosos, yet during the last half-century, and especially in
connection with the Wagnerian drama, the number of celebrated
singers has increased. As dramatic artists these German singers are
surpassed by none, though in pure vocalism they may not rank as
high as those of the Italian and French school. Among the most
renowned are Sontag, Milder, Tichatschek, Pauline Lucca, Gerster,
Unger, Wachtel, Formes, Stockhausen, Staudigl, Henschel,
Wranitzky, Loewe and Schröder-Devrient (1804–60). This last-
named singer was one of the most highly gifted artists who ever
appeared on the operatic stage. She created the part of Leonore in
Beethoven’s “Fidelio.” In later years she appeared in Wagner’s earlier
operas, and was of great assistance to him in realizing his ideal of
dramatic singing. In his writings Wagner eulogizes her. The musical
dramas of Wagner have not only been the high school for orchestral
virtuosos and conductors, but above all for dramatic singers. The
most famous German singers of the present day have been associated
with Bayreuth and the established opera houses of Germany where
Wagner’s works are performed. The most noteworthy of these
Wagner singers are Frau Materna, Marianne Brandt, Malten,
Lehmann-Kalisch, Mallinger, Dietz, Kindermann, Ludwig, Schnorr
von Carolsfeld, to whom Wagner pays such a tribute of praise in the
eighth volume of his collected writings; Winkelmann, Vogl, Gura,
Niemann, Scheidemantel, Van Dyck, Alvary, Betz, Scaria and Emil
Fischer.
 RICHARD STRAUSS.

From a photograph from life by

Hanfstaengl, of Munich.

(See page 601.)

One of the results of Germany’s high development in music, and

consequent “division of labor” in the executive part of the art, has
been to give great importance to the conductors of orchestras and of
large musical societies. Until recently there have been but few cases
of really great conductors who were not at the same time prominent
composers. Weber, Wagner, Spohr, Mendelssohn, Marschner,
Lindpaintner, Rietz and Hiller were all Kapellmeister-composers.
The remarkable advance in orchestral technique and the increased
work demanded of conductors have given rise to the necessity of
training men exclusively for this exacting profession. There are at
present in Germany a half-dozen specialists in this branch who are
particularly distinguished. Foremost among them is the gifted Hans
von Bülow (born 1830). Great as are this master’s merits as a piano
virtuoso, it is chiefly as a conductor that he has had important
influence upon the musical activity of his time. His long connection
with the Meiningen orchestra, at a period when it made frequent
concert tours through Germany, was of great service in raising the
standard of orchestral interpretation throughout the country.
Hans Richter (born 1843) also enjoys an international reputation
as a conductor. He is chief conductor of the Imperial opera and
Philharmonic concerts of Vienna. He has also frequently conducted
the concerts of the London Philharmonic Society. Richter was
intimately associated with Wagner, and directed the first Bayreuth
performance in 1876.
A conductor of perhaps even greater ability, but of less extended
reputation, is Hermann Levi (born 1839), the chief conductor of the
Munich theatre. He also was intimately associated with Wagner, and
conducted the first performance of “Parsifal” at Bayreuth in 1882. He
is at present the conductor-in-chief at Bayreuth. His principal claim
to superiority lies in the fact that he conducts equally well the
daintiest Haydn symphony and the most complex Wagner music-
drama. He is as a conductor what Liszt was as a pianist, universally
sympathetic in his interpretations.
Felix Mottl (born 1856) of Carlsruhe, and Ernst Schuch (born
1848) of Dresden, are worthy to be grouped with Germany’s great
conductors. The former is one of the Bayreuth conductors. The
young composers, Strauss and Weingartner, are also able
Kapellmeister.
Any consideration of the history of music in Germany would be
incomplete without some mention of her great achievements in
musical criticism, history, theory, philosophy and æsthetics. In these
departments of literary and scientific work, Germany has
accomplished infinitely more than any other nation. We have already
had occasion, in speaking of certain composers, to mention their
literary works. But the majority of writers on music have left no
record as artists.
During the eighteenth century the most noted German writers on
musical history and criticism were Forkel, Gerbert, Mattheson,
Scheibe, Reichardt and J. A. Hiller; on musical theory and
instruction, Fux, Albrechtsberger, Marpurg, Kirnberger, Sorge,
Knecht, Quantz, Em. Bach and Leopold Mozart. During the present
century the principal writers on the general subject of musical
history have been Brendel, von Dommer, Reissmann, Naumann,
Langhans and August Wilhelm Ambros (1816–76). For original
research, profound learning, and remarkable critical insight the
“Geschichte der Musik” by Ambros ranks first among all works on
the subject.
R. G. Kiesewetter (1773–1850), the uncle of Ambros, shows equal
thoroughness in treating the special subjects of musical history. His
monographs on the Netherland masters, on secular song, on Arabian
music, etc., are sources of important information. Carl von
Winterfeld is the great authority on German church music. His “Der
Evangelische Kirchengesang” is a work of great learning.
In the field of musical biography the list is a long one, and includes
Marx, Schindler, Nohl, Nottebohm, Lenz, Bitter, Chrysander, Jahn
and Spitta.

HANS von BÜLOW.

From a photograph from life by Bieber,

of Hamburg.
 Otto Jahn’s “Life of Mozart,” and Philipp Spitta’s “Life of Bach,”
are masterly biographies, which are an honor to the authors and the
nation that produced them. They are monuments of exhaustive
research and profound critical analysis. Mention should be made of
the biography of Beethoven by Alexander W. Thayer, which was
published in Germany as the fruits of many years of patient and
thorough investigation. The author is an American by birth and
education, but has long been identified with German musical
literature, and is considered as the authority in all that pertains to
the life of the great composer.
Musical criticism has been well represented by Friedrich Rochlitz
(1770–1808), the founder of the “Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung”
of Leipsic; Adolf Bernhard Marx (1799–1866), one of the most
broadly educated musical writers of his time; Gottfried Weber (1779–
1839), editor of the musical periodical, “Cæcilia”; Thibaut, whose
“Purity in Musical Art” is a highly esteemed essay; Schumann, the
composer, who gave a new and higher direction to musical criticism
in his “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.” Schumann’s gifted poetical
nature is revealed in his critical reviews as well as in his music, and
he set an example followed by others, though at a distance, among
whom Eduard Hanslick, of Vienna, is perhaps the most worthy of
mention; Wilhelm Tappert, the editor of the “Allgemeine Deutsche
Zeitung,” is a zealous partisan of Wagner. His “Wagner Lexicon” is a
curious compilation of all the slang and abuse that have been hurled
at the composer and his friends.
Among the imaginative writers on musical subjects, the most
remarkable was Ernst T. R. Hoffmann, whose romantic tales have
given him a prominent place in German literature. He was composer,
poet, singer, teacher, conductor and theatrical manager; he was
especially gifted as an improvisator. Everything this eccentric genius
did, he did well. Among his works are eleven operas and two
symphonies. Schumann was much influenced by the fantastic tales of
Hoffmann. His “Kreisleriana” was suggested by Hoffmann’s
fragments of the imaginary “Kreisler the Kapellmeister.” Beethoven
wrote a humorous canon addressed to Hoffmann, and Weber loved
him.
 VIENNA OPERA HOUSE

From a photograph.

Germany, during the present century, has produced almost

endless works on musical theory and speculation. The most
prominent representatives are G. Weber; Hauptmann, whose
“Harmony and Metre” is a profound work; Marx and Lobe, whose
general systems treat of all branches of musical composition,
including instrumentation, and are valuable as books of reference; E.
F. Richter and Jadassohn, whose treatises on harmony, counterpoint
and fugue are excellent text-books. Other well-known theoretical
writers are Weitzmann, Paul, Sechter, Riemann, Friedrich and
Heinrich Bellermann and Westphal.
 THE CONCERT HALL IN THE GEWANDHAUS IN LEIPSIC.

From an engraving published about 1860.

The æsthetics of music have been extensively treated by the

foremost German philosophers. Hegel and his followers Vischer and
Kahlert, laid the foundation of a comprehensive consideration of the
subject. The philosophers outside the Hegelian school, Krüger,
Schelling, Krause, Carriere, Karl Köstlin, Fechner, Wundt and Lötze,
have included in larger works more or less extensive treatments of
musical æsthetics, and the interest which Wagner felt for the theories
of Schopenhauer is well known. In addition to these, several writers
—Schubart, Hand, Schilling, Heinrich Köstlin, Reissmann, Riemann,
Kullak, Stumpf, Engel—have written large treatises devoted
exclusively to the subject. The object has been to establish, if
possible, the psychological relations of music, and to deduce the
raison d’être of the various musical forms; but no one has yet
established conclusions which have been generally accepted.
Opposed to these writers are a small number of advocates of a purely
formalistic theory of music,—Herbart, Zimmermann and Hanslick.
The last-named is the author of a book entitled “Concerning the
Musically Beautiful,” which has been perhaps more generally read
and commented upon than any other single work on musical
æsthetics. It is safe to assert that this work of Hanslick does not solve
the mystery of the power of music on the soul. Certainly it seems to
be a superficial idea of Hanslick that music has no inward meaning
(or Inhalt), and is only a mere play of form (Formspiel). But this
interesting little book is so brilliantly written and so carefully
considered that it still holds its own, and is known throughout the
musical world.
In this connection mention should be made of “The Sensations of
Tone,” published in 1863 by Hermann Helmholtz, the great Berlin
physicist. This work is not only one of the greatest achievements of
German science, but is also unique among all works published on the
subject of music. It embodies the results of exhaustive research into
all phenomena connected with the production of tone and its
perception by the human consciousness. In a word, it establishes a
firm physical foundation for all future philosophical speculations
concerning music.
It is commonly and truly said that the time is not yet ripe for an
exhaustive history of music. An enormous amount of material, it is
true, has been collected, but in most divisions of the subject the
sources of information have not yet been thoroughly explored. At
present Germany is distancing all other nations in the contributions
made to the sum of historical knowledge concerning music. Not to
mention the numberless treatises and monographs which are
continually appearing, the regularly published musical periodicals
are numerous and excellent, and frequently make important
contributions to musical scholarship.
Although the present article is far from professing to present a
complete account of all that Germany has accomplished in music, it
may serve to show the many-sided character of musical culture in
that land. Not one of the many branches of musical activity has failed
to feel the influence of Germany, and in only a few branches does she
hold any other than the leading position. In our own day her musical
zeal remains unabated. The number of musical compositions and
books published year by year in Germany is enormous, and the
proportion of her young men who enter on the career of teacher or
performer seems to be increasing rather than diminishing. While it is
true that there are very few great composers now living in Germany,
and that they are rivalled by the living composers of other
nationalities, and even though in the latest music of over-cultivated
Germany there is a want of freshness, naturalness and naïveté that
belong only to musical youth, yet there is no reason for supposing
that any other nation will, in the near future, usurp Germany’s well-
merited title of “laureate amongst all musical nations.”
 JEAN BAPTISTE LULLY

Reproduction from the rare folio print

engraved by Roullet, after Mignard.
 JEAN BAPTISTE LULLY

Lully is justly considered the founder of opera in France, although he

was not the first to compose operas in the French language. Several
of his biographers assure us that he was of noble birth, supporting
their statements by the letters of naturalization granted him by Louis
XIV., in December, 1661, in which the composer is called the son of
Laurent Lully, a man of quality, and Catherine del Sarte. It is,
however, more probable that he was the offspring of an obscure
country miller who dwelt near Florence, as stated by Guichard in a
celebrated memoir which he drew up at the time of his lawsuit for
dissolution of partnership with Lully, who had co-operated with him
in the management of the Opéra.
By chance it came to pass that the Chevalier de Guise, when
travelling in Italy, discovered young Baptiste Lully in Florence, his
native place. The nobleman was impressed by the precocious
intelligence that sparkled so brightly in the boy’s eyes. He who was
destined to become the founder of lyric tragedy in France was
singing popular songs, accompanying himself upon the guitar, from
instinct rather than training, for he had never been taught to play
that instrument, and possessed, as yet, only the most primitive ideas
regarding music. He was then about twelve years of age.
At that time, people were not very musical in France, Italy being
much more advanced in that respect. In the era of Le Grande
Monarque, “Le Roi Soleil,” there were neither orchestras nor singers
in the true sense of the words, and opera was, so to speak, quite
unknown.
The first musical play ever seen in France was produced on the
occasion of the marriage of Mlle. de Vaudemont, Marguerite de
Lorraine, sister-in-law of King Henri III., to the Duc de Joyeuse. It
was performed on the 15th of October, 1579, at the Château de
Moustier, in presence of ten thousand spectators, and the Italian,
Baltazarini, fulfilled the duties of impressario. He was ever
afterwards known by the name of Baltazar de Beaujoyeuse, and in
this way the Duc de Joyeuse may be said to have ennobled him.
This Italian had been brought to France by the Comte de Brissac,
and Catherine de Médicis appointed him musical director, with the
dignity of valet, to her court. He played the violin after the manner of
a virtuoso—for his time. It was this same Baltazarini who composed
the dance music in the opera-ballet “Cérès,” of which Claudin wrote
the vocal score.
Cardinal Mazarin was fond of musical plays, and in 1644 he caused
to be brought from Italy dramatic singers who, in the hall of the
Petit-Bourbon and in presence of the king, Louis XIV., gave a
representation of the “Festa della finta pazza,” a melodrama in five
acts interspersed with comic interludes. Two years later, the Abbé
Mailly organized a representation of a lyric tragedy entitled “Akebar,
Roi du Mogol,” which was given in one of the halls of the episcopal
palace of Carpentras.
The taste for music was gradually extending in the ranks of
cultivated French society, and Mlle. de Montpensier had asked the
Chevalier de Guise to bring for her from Italy—the cradle of opera
—“a young musician to enliven my house.”
“Will you come with me to Paris?” asked the Chevalier, addressing
the little singer and guitarist: to which the lad, without a moment’s
hesitation, and as if impelled by his destiny, joyfully answered, “Yes.”
Thereupon the twain set out for the French capital, and the Chevalier
gave his Italian musician to “Mademoiselle.”
The grand-daughter of Henri IV. received Baptiste as she would
have received a pug dog,—an animal then very fashionable. For a few
days she amused herself with her little musician, then wearily cast
him aside, finally relegating him to her kitchens, where he was
enrolled among the scullions. It was thus that the nobility and clergy
of that day were wont to treat musicians, great and small. It must not
be forgotten that the Archbishop of Salzburg, who kept the divine
Mozart in his service for a certain time, made him wear livery and
sent him to take his meals in the kitchen with the servants.
While washing the dishes or stirring the kitchen fire, and possibly
while tasting the sauces, unknown to the chef, the little Florentine
lifted up his voice in song. In his spare time he played the guitar or
practised the violin, upon which instrument he is said to have
become an accomplished player.
Occasionally he was given verses, which he set to music with great
facility. To Lully is attributed the air which became so popular and
which is still sung, more particularly in the country districts, to the
words “Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot.”
One day were sent to him some couplets that were far from
laudatory of the proud princess, his mistress. The verses greatly
diverted Baptiste, who composed a pretty air to the words, and sang
it to every one. This afforded much amusement in the kitchen of
haughty “Mademoiselle,” who, hearing of the insult, caused her
audacious and disrespectful scullion-composer to be expelled from
her house.
In his secret heart, the great musician, that was to be, felt glad
when thus disgraced. He was free; penniless, it is true, but
courageous and full of hope in the future. He began to study
harmony under Gigault, the organist of St. Nicolas-des-Champs, and
ultimately succeeded in gaining admittance to the Grande Bande des
Violons du Roi, which consisted of forty performers. Some few airs
which he wrote for the violin were favorably received and rendered in
the presence of the Le Grande Monarque himself. His Majesty was,
indeed, so pleased with the young artist (Lully was then nineteen),
that he appointed him Inspector of the violins. And this was not all,
for the king organized for Lully’s satisfaction another band of
musicians, called Les Petits Violons, in order to distinguish them
from the “Grande Bande.”
From that moment a brilliant future awaited the composer. His
agreeable manners, docile spirit, and a certain wild audacity, that did
not diminish his profound deference for his benefactor, the king,
won and retained the royal favor; genius did the rest.
 The little band of violinists, thanks to their skilful training under
the direction of Lully, achieved wonders, far outstripping the original
band in regard to both time and accuracy of execution.
Being now in high favor at court, Lully was authorized to compose
dance tunes for the ballets that Louis XIV. caused to be performed
nearly every year, and in which his Majesty himself participated.
Later he composed the entire musical portion of these
entertainments, which were sometimes called “Mascarades.” He was
uniformly successful, and Fortune had evidently chosen him for her
own.
Enterprising and full of confidence in his talent and savoir-faire,
Lully, having formed a friendship with Molière, did not hesitate to
appear as a comedian and to perform in the pieces that were
represented in the great dramatist’s theatre. In 1669, he took the rôle
of Pourceaugnac in the piece of that name, and the Mufti in “Le
Bourgeois Gentilhomme.”
Certain writers, contemporaries of Lully, foremost among whom
must be mentioned the great Racine and the no less illustrious La
Fontaine, have passed a somewhat harsh judgment on the
composer’s character. It is true that he sometimes showed himself a
most abject sycophant in presence of the nobility at court, and
especially before the king. But what courtier was not humble in
presence of the sovereign of that court? Still, in spite of his humility
before the great, Lully did not completely lose his dignity. On certain
occasions his retorts to influential persons at court, and even to the
king himself, were characterized by remarkable boldness. Two
examples may be given to show the droll and daring humor of the
celebrated composer.
It happened, one day, that the Marquis de Louvois, the powerful
minister of Louis XIV., taunted Lully with having secured the king’s
friendship solely by his talent for buffoonery. To this the musician,
drawing up his head proudly, made the fearless reply, “Zounds! you
would do as much if you could!”
Again, at the first performance of “Armide” at Versailles, Félix
Clément tells us, some unforeseen difficulties prevented the raising
of the curtain at the appointed time. The king, becoming impatient at
the delay, sent one of the officers of his guard to inform Lully of his
dissatisfaction. The words, “The king is waiting,” elicited from the
composer a reply as sharp as it was wanting in respect. “The king,”
said he, “is master here, and nobody has the right to prevent him
waiting as long as he likes!”—a quip more witty than prudent. The
courtiers believed that the man who dared to make such a reply was
irretrievably lost; and when “Armide” was given at the Royal
Academy of Music on the 15th of February, 1686, the audience,
fearful of compromising themselves if they applauded the work,
received it in a depressingly frigid manner. Convinced of the merit of
his score, Lully had it executed a few days later for his own
satisfaction (as did the king of Bavaria, recently, with Wagner’s lyric
dramas at the theatre of Bayreuth). Louis XIV. hearing of this, and
feeling that a work which had been pronounced good by his musician
could not be otherwise, set the seal of his praise on the score of
“Armide,” which immediately obtained a signal success and was even
proclaimed the best work that Lully had written.

JEAN BAPTISTE LULLY.

From an engraving by Bonnart at the

British Museum.