ABSTRACT
Concepts of musical art and artistry, and studies of exceptionally successful musical artists, have tended to be regarded as the province of historical musicology rather than ethnomusicology. This chapter explores some of the issues that are involved in applying a Western-derived concept of musical art to a non-Western context, even one where Western musical norms and values have to a great extent been adopted. It focuses on a musician who has achieved outstanding success within an ethnos that places a high value on music as art: Korean composer and performer Hwang Byungki. The chapter describes the nature of Hwang's success and the marks of recognition that constitute it and work towards an ethnomusicological way of accounting for such individual artistic success through a combination of music analysis and ethnography. It assesses the implications of studying individual success such as Hwang's for an ethnomusicology of musical art and artistry.
