Passage 9
I have been told that there are many people who read the newspapers on the day
after they have attended a concert or operatic representation for the purpose
of finding out whether or not the performance gave them proper or sufficient
enjoyment…Certain it is that some men who write about music for the newspapers
believe, or affect to believe, that criticism is worthless, and I shall not escape the
charge of inconsistency, if, after I have condemned the blunders of literary men,
who are laymen in music, and separated the majority of professional writers on the
art into pedants and rhapsodists, I nevertheless venture to discuss the nature and
value of musical criticism. Yet, surely, there must be a right and wrong in this as in
every other thing, and just as surely the present structure of society, which rests
on the newspaper, invites attention to the existing relationship between musician,
critic, and public…
I lay down the proposition that the relationship between the three factors
enumerated is so intimate and so strict that the world over they rise and fall
together; which means that where the people dwell who have reached the highest
plane of excellence, there also are to be found the highest types of the musician
and critic; and that in the degree in which the three factors, which united make up
the sum of musical activity, labor harmoniously, conscientiously, and unselfishly,
each striving to fulfil its mission, they advance music and further themselves, each
bearing off an equal share of the good derived from the common effort... In this
collaboration, as in so many others, it is conflict that brings life. Only by a surrender
of their functions, one to the other, could the three apparently dissonant yet
essentially harmonious factors be brought into a state of complacency; but such
complacency would mean stagnation…
The complacency of the musician and the indifference, not to say ignorance,
of the public ordinarily combine to make them allies, and the critic is, therefore,
placed between two millstones, where he is vigorously rasped on both sides, and
whence, being angular and hard of outer shell, he frequently requites the treatment
received with complete and energetic reciprocity. Is he therefore to be pitied? Not
a bit; for in this position he is performing one of the most significant and useful of
his functions, and disclosing one of his most precious virtues. While musician and
public must perforce remain in the positions in which they have been placed with
relation to each other it must be apparent at half a glance that it would be the
simplest matter in the world for the critic to extricate himself from his predicament.
He would only need to take his cue from the public, measuring his commendation
by the intensity of their applause, his dispraise by their signs of displeasure, and
all would be well with him. We all know this to be true, that people like to read that
which flatters them by echoing their own thoughts. The more delightfully it is put
by the writer the more the reader is pleased, for has he not had the same idea? Are
they not his? Is not their appearance in a public print proof of the shrewdness and
soundness of his judgment?...
As a rule, however, the critic is not guilty of the wrong of speaking out the thought
of others, but publishes what there is of his own mind, and this I laud in him as a
virtue, which is praiseworthy in the degree that it springs from loftiness of aim,
depth of knowledge, and sincerity and unselfishness of purpose…
Krehbiel, H. E. (2006). How to listen to music (7th ed.). Project Gutenberg. (Original
work published 1896)
Which of the following statements are true, according to the evidence presented in
the passage?
Statement I: The transmission of opinions about musical criticism primarily relies
upon what is published in the newspaper
Statement II: The public’s opinions are notably clear, distinct, and firm when it
comes to music
Statement III: Critics who do not believe in the value of their work likely have
opinions that should be disregarded
A) Statement I only
B) Statement III only
C) Statements I and III only
D) Statements II and III only
Correct answer is D
Among the three statements listed above, only statements I and III are true, making
Answer D the correct answer and Answers A, B, and C the incorrect answers. The
author emphasizes the importance of the newspaper, writing that “yet, surely,
there must be a right and wrong in this as in every other thing, and just as surely
the present structure of society, which rests on the newspaper, invites attention
to the existing relationship between musician, critic, and public.” The author not
only indicates that newspapers are important for musical criticism, but goes
further, declaring that newspapers are important for the entire “present structure
of society.” In other words, newspapers are a main institution underlying the way
that society–including musical criticism–conducts itself, including and musical
criticism is included within this. For this reason, we can infer from the passage that
Statement I is true.
In contrast to Statements I and III, Statement II is false based on the information
presented in the passage. The author makes multiple statements about the
public’s musical opinions, but we cannot conclude from the passage that they
are clear, distinct, and firm. Rather, the author writes of the public’s “ignorance”
when it comes to analyzing music, and writes that, rather than evaluating music on
their own, they must look to others to help them in their analysis: “there are many
people who read the newspapers on the day after they have attended a concert
or operatic representation for the purpose of finding out whether or not the
performance gave them proper or sufficient enjoyment.”
Statement III is true because the author does believe that critics who do not
believe in the value of their work likely have opinions that should be disregarded.
In the first paragraph, the author differentiates between authentic and inauthentic
critics: “I have condemned the blunders of literary men, who are laymen in music,
and separated the majority of professional writers on the art into pedants and
rhapsodists.” In light of this, later on in the passage, the author speaks of what
constitutes the highest form of the musical critic, and writes that he “publishes
what there is of his own mind…which is praiseworthy in the degree that it springs
from loftiness of aim, depth of knowledge, and sincerity and unselfishness of
purpose.” However, the author also stresses the difficulty of expressing one’s true
opinion, indicating that critics who choose to do so may face scrutiny from the
public and from musicians alike. Given all of these statements, it is reasonable
to believe that the true critic–the one whose opinions should be regarded–are
ones who believe in the value of their work and of their opinions, regardless of the
popularity of those opinions, and that, similarly, the converse is true: that critics
who do not believe in the value of their work likely have opinions that should be
disregarded.
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