Page 154 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2024. Glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes ▪︎ Music Criticism – Yesterday and Today. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 7
P. 154
glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes | music criticism – yesterday and today
should a reviewer react to this state of affairs? Is there one “absolute” way
of judging, or do circumstances have to be taken into account? Acton had a
clear position on this question:
There is a school of criticism [...] that there is only one standard of judge-
ment – the highest. He would have one judge the RÉSO by the standard
of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and castigate them when they
are below those standards. I believe that idea to be utterly wrong, im-
practicable and harmful. [...] however valid such a standard might be in
London, Paris, Vienna, New York or San Francisco, it is invalid in Dub-
lin, or in any capital of a musically small country.30
As Acton added, judging Irish performers according to international
standards would discourage both performers and audiences, while virtual-
ly every review would be “slaughter”.
Yet how should standards for Irish performances be determined, then?
Not in an absolute but rather a more relative way, based on local compari-
sons and the development of performers over time:
I believe that one has to set a standard for each event and consider how
the actual example compares with that standard. [...] I believe that
(broadly speaking) the standard of judgement should be what the par-
ticular performer is capable of, tempered by whether that is proper to
the reader’s attention. Thus, a performance in a student concert may
rightly be described as outstanding if it is so in the context of Dublin
student concerts.31
Thus, a Messiah presented in Dublin during a Christmas season should
be judged in comparison with the many others performed there that De-
cember, as well as with previous renditions by the same conductor, soloists,
choir and orchestra. However, these “local” standards did not apply to vis-
iting foreign performers; they were to be judged according to international
expectations. Over time, foreign performers are meant to raise local stand-
ards, and if they can’t provide examples of those international standards,
they should not come to Ireland:
There is no earthly point in importing Britons, Germans, Americans
or Italians unless they can give us something we should not get without
them. [...] It is straightforward common sense that the Irish artist of suf-
30 Ibid. RÉSO stands for Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra. Later this ensemble
transformed into today’s National Symphony Orchestra.
31 Ibid., 18–9.
154
should a reviewer react to this state of affairs? Is there one “absolute” way
of judging, or do circumstances have to be taken into account? Acton had a
clear position on this question:
There is a school of criticism [...] that there is only one standard of judge-
ment – the highest. He would have one judge the RÉSO by the standard
of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and castigate them when they
are below those standards. I believe that idea to be utterly wrong, im-
practicable and harmful. [...] however valid such a standard might be in
London, Paris, Vienna, New York or San Francisco, it is invalid in Dub-
lin, or in any capital of a musically small country.30
As Acton added, judging Irish performers according to international
standards would discourage both performers and audiences, while virtual-
ly every review would be “slaughter”.
Yet how should standards for Irish performances be determined, then?
Not in an absolute but rather a more relative way, based on local compari-
sons and the development of performers over time:
I believe that one has to set a standard for each event and consider how
the actual example compares with that standard. [...] I believe that
(broadly speaking) the standard of judgement should be what the par-
ticular performer is capable of, tempered by whether that is proper to
the reader’s attention. Thus, a performance in a student concert may
rightly be described as outstanding if it is so in the context of Dublin
student concerts.31
Thus, a Messiah presented in Dublin during a Christmas season should
be judged in comparison with the many others performed there that De-
cember, as well as with previous renditions by the same conductor, soloists,
choir and orchestra. However, these “local” standards did not apply to vis-
iting foreign performers; they were to be judged according to international
expectations. Over time, foreign performers are meant to raise local stand-
ards, and if they can’t provide examples of those international standards,
they should not come to Ireland:
There is no earthly point in importing Britons, Germans, Americans
or Italians unless they can give us something we should not get without
them. [...] It is straightforward common sense that the Irish artist of suf-
30 Ibid. RÉSO stands for Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra. Later this ensemble
transformed into today’s National Symphony Orchestra.
31 Ibid., 18–9.
154
