Music criticism in nineteenth-century England: how did it become a profession?

Title: Music criticism in nineteenth-century England: how did it become a profession?
Author: Watt, Paul
Source document: Musicologica Brunensia. 2017, vol. 52, iss. 1, pp. 117-126
Extent
117-126
  • ISSN
    1212-0391 (print)
    2336-436X (online)
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
 

Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.

Abstract(s)
Of the two-dozen professions that emerged in nineteenth-century Britain, such as medicine, the law and the public service, music criticism was a late developer. This paper examines the social, economic and intellectual factors that led to the establishment of music criticism as a profession and the ways institutions such as the Musical Association and the Musical Times contributed to this process of professionalization. I argue that the path to making music criticism a creditable profession was neither a top-down nor bottom-up approach; rather it was a ubiquitous movement driven by newspapers readers, editors and composers.
References
[1] ALLEN REED, Thomas. The Reporter's Guide. London: Pitman, 1869.

[2] BENNETT, Joseph. Types of musical character III: The musical critic, Lute: A Monthly Journal of Musical News, 2 November 1885, p. 241–243.

[3] BUNDOCK, Clement J. The National Union of Journalists: A Jubilee History, 1907–1957. London: National Union of Journalists, 1957

[4] GOPSILL, Tim and Greg NEALE, Greg. Journalists: 100 Years of the NUJ. London: Profile Books, 2007.

[5] CARR-SAUNDERS, A. M. and WILSON, P. A. The Professions. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933.

[6] CORFIELD Penelope, J. Power and the Professions in Britain 1700–1850. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.

[7] CROWEST, Frederick J. Phases of Musical England. London: Remington and Co., 1881.

[8] HADOW, W. H. Studies in Modern Music. London: Seeley, 1893.

[9] HAMPTON, Mark. Journalists and the "professional ideal" in Britain: The Institute of Journalists, 1884–1907, Historical Research 72/178 (June 1999), 183–201.

[10] HAWKINS, John. A General History of Music from the Earliest Ages to the Present (4 vols.). London: Payne and Son, 1779 [1776]).

[11] MANSFIELD F. J. "Gentleman, The Press!": Chronicles of a Crusade [Official History of the National Union of Journalists] London: W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd, 1943.

[12] NEWMAN Ernest. A school for musical critics, Musical Times, January 1911, p. 16–17.

[13] PENDLETON, JOHN. Newspaper Reporting in Olden Time and Today. London: Elliot Stock, 1899.

[14] READE, A. Arthur. A Literary Success: Being a Guide to Practical Journalism 2nd ed. London: Wyman & Sons, 1885.

[15] READER, W. J. Professional Men: The Rise of the Professional Classes in Nineteenth-Century England. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996§.

[16] RUSSELL, Percy. The Literary Manual: A Complete Guide to Authorship. London: London Literary Society, 1886.

[17] SALAMAN, Charles Kensington. On musical criticism. Proceedings of the Musical Association, second session, 1875–1876.

[18] STAINER, John. The principles of musical criticism. Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, seventh session, 1880–1, p. 35–52.

[19] STEPHEN, Leslie. Of the aspects of criticism. Examiner, 13 December 1873, p. 1234–1235.

[20] THOMSON, H. Byerley. The Choice of a Profession: A Concise Account and Comparative Review of the English Professions. London: Chapman and Hall, 1857.

[21] UNSIGNED. Periodical literature. Edinburgh Review, January 1824, p. 206–246.

[22] UNSIGNED. The Royal College of Critics. Magazine of Music, February 1894, p. 43.