DISTINCTIVE?

posted by James Reel

    Simon Heffer’s defense of Elgar in the Telegraph is typical English boosterism. The basic argument: Elgar was great because he was English! Heffer tosses out a few superlatives for Elgar’s weakest works (the Violin Concerto, the Second Symphony, The Coma of Gerontius) without ever identifying anything that gives them musical value. This is typical of the Elgarians: Declare the old man to be superior and it must be so, even in the absence of supporting evidence. Of what value is criticism by assertion?
    Of course, not every Englishman is an idiot when it comes to music. I don’t recall the position on Elgar taken by Pliable, the proprietor of On an Overgrown Path, and for some reason Pliable’s opinions do not always coincide with mine, but he is certainly an intelligent observer and listener. I particularly like his definition of excellence in broadcasting, from a recent post about the dismal state of British classical radio: “To do great radio you need to be distinctive, inclusive and personal.”