Musica Docta (Dec 2023)
Musicologia e critica musicale: specificità, interazioni, implicazioni pedagogico-didattiche
Abstract
The musicologist and the music critic are two distinct and well-characterized professional profiles, but they can be complementary and a possible convergence can be hoped for. This article focuses on the specificity of the two professions, on the knowledge required for both, and on their separate but, if necessary, interchangeable functions. In fact, a productive circular process can be activated when both activities set themselves the primary goal of «expressing in words the specific musical experience and the specific qualities of the work» (Adorno), rising to the challenge of verbal transcoding and providing the reader with keys to interpretation and access to the works. The training of music professionals and their role in Italian society are two topics that are inextricably linked to the issue of music education and the marginal role it plays in our school system, with serious repercussions on the daily work of those who work professionally in the field of music. Despite the practical problems of journalistic production, critical discourse should not be just news, but a link in the hermeneutic chain. Any serious criticism of a performance is also an ‘exegesis’ of the work performed. The musicological competence would allow the critic to regain his authority in the free spaces of the Web and to maintain his own function in a cultural scenario that has undergone a profound change in the last few years. Likewise, critical-aesthetic judgment should be one of the components of any musicological activity that aspires to cultural breadth and knows how to connect with a wider public. No less important is the question of engagement with contemporary thought and creativity: the current absence of critical debate on new music is in fact a problem that affects both the ethical and political mandate of the music critic and the relationship between musicology and civil society.
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