ABSTRACT
Drawing on Max Weber, this chapter outlines the suitability of an ideal-type approach for learning from historical cases such as the Concert of Europe and elaborates the characteristics of an ideal-typical concert. The author uses this ideal type both to think about which aspects of the Concert of Europe are intrinsic to our idea of concerts and also to highlight the degree to which concerts might vary depending on circumstances. The chapter thus offers a theoretical basis for thinking about the nature of concerts and a distinctive way of thinking about the prospects of a 21st Century Concert.
