Musical tastes change across generations, so it is not surprising if older people today prefer to listen to the Beatles, for example, rather than a brass band. However, one cannot assume that musical tastes and contexts of music listening necessarily remain stable over the life course. While the relevant literature often focuses on music listening among younger people, we ask how the musical tastes of older people have developed and whether music - in times of renewed discussion of generational conflicts - reinforces or rather tends to blur boundaries between generations. In doing so, we combine research on aging and inequality: Insofar as taste is considered to be influenced by education or social situation, we ask what role status (dis)continuities in the life course play for the connection between musical taste, social situation, and age/cohorts. For instance, can notions of preferences for e.g. classical music here and schlager there be maintained for older people?

Empirically, we plan biographical interviews, group discussions and intergenerational 'duo interviews'.