Page 268 - 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. 268
glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes | music criticism – yesterday and today
ing from authentic to fake, from high-quality to utterly worthless. This is
above all due to the new media. While things may not have been idyllic
even in the golden age of the press, at least every medium had one or more
editors responsible for making a selection from amid the mass of informa-
tion. Readers’ trust in the credibility of the medium was of key importance.
The media were well aware of this and therefore had to maintain a certain
quality level in order to retain the trust of their readers. In today’s condi-
tions, particularly in the new media, there is practically no selection. Even
on YouTube, we find music videos of the highest quality alongside the most
amateurish clips imaginable. How is someone who is not familiar with the
field but wants to learn about it supposed to find their way through this
confusion? No wonder then, that quality has been replaced by populari-
ty, or in other words that quality is measured in quantitative terms by the
number of views and likes. Quantitative indicators frequently diverge rad-
ically, of course, from criteria such as aesthetic excellence and craftsman-
ship. Print media, unfortunately, are trying to adapt to online media and
looking for ways to satisfy “online taste” in a battle that is already lost be-
cause of the essential differences between the two types of media.
In such conditions, it is arts criticism that can to some extent guide
and educate the public and, with greater or lesser success, effect a selection
based on quality. Elena Martinique says: “Criticism has an important role in
developing and deepening the work of artists, but also in helping viewers [or
listeners] perceive and interpret works of art.”24 In some cases criticism can
have an even more important and far-reaching impact. One example of this
would be the critical re-evaluation of Mahler’s music in the 1960s and 1970s.
The second level is the relationship between criticism and artists. There
is no question that it can be extremely useful for every artist to be confront-
ed with a critical view of their work. Such confrontation stimulates reflec-
tion and self-examination. And what is art if not a constant search? The at-
titude of artists towards criticism can vary greatly. Many artists do not care
about criticism and reject it – particularly negative criticism – a priori, usu-
ally on the grounds that it is uninformed or the result of the critic’s failure
to understand their work or their lack of erudition. On the other hand I
cannot think of an example of an artist who has branded a positive review
of their work as uninformed.
24 Elena Martinique, “What is the purpose of art criticism today?” Widewalls, January
14, 2017, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/what-is-the-purpose-of-art-criticism.
268
ing from authentic to fake, from high-quality to utterly worthless. This is
above all due to the new media. While things may not have been idyllic
even in the golden age of the press, at least every medium had one or more
editors responsible for making a selection from amid the mass of informa-
tion. Readers’ trust in the credibility of the medium was of key importance.
The media were well aware of this and therefore had to maintain a certain
quality level in order to retain the trust of their readers. In today’s condi-
tions, particularly in the new media, there is practically no selection. Even
on YouTube, we find music videos of the highest quality alongside the most
amateurish clips imaginable. How is someone who is not familiar with the
field but wants to learn about it supposed to find their way through this
confusion? No wonder then, that quality has been replaced by populari-
ty, or in other words that quality is measured in quantitative terms by the
number of views and likes. Quantitative indicators frequently diverge rad-
ically, of course, from criteria such as aesthetic excellence and craftsman-
ship. Print media, unfortunately, are trying to adapt to online media and
looking for ways to satisfy “online taste” in a battle that is already lost be-
cause of the essential differences between the two types of media.
In such conditions, it is arts criticism that can to some extent guide
and educate the public and, with greater or lesser success, effect a selection
based on quality. Elena Martinique says: “Criticism has an important role in
developing and deepening the work of artists, but also in helping viewers [or
listeners] perceive and interpret works of art.”24 In some cases criticism can
have an even more important and far-reaching impact. One example of this
would be the critical re-evaluation of Mahler’s music in the 1960s and 1970s.
The second level is the relationship between criticism and artists. There
is no question that it can be extremely useful for every artist to be confront-
ed with a critical view of their work. Such confrontation stimulates reflec-
tion and self-examination. And what is art if not a constant search? The at-
titude of artists towards criticism can vary greatly. Many artists do not care
about criticism and reject it – particularly negative criticism – a priori, usu-
ally on the grounds that it is uninformed or the result of the critic’s failure
to understand their work or their lack of erudition. On the other hand I
cannot think of an example of an artist who has branded a positive review
of their work as uninformed.
24 Elena Martinique, “What is the purpose of art criticism today?” Widewalls, January
14, 2017, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/what-is-the-purpose-of-art-criticism.
268
