Smyrna times., 1875-12-29
Unsoientifc Critics.

| 10 O'''tlOus oI expressing public judgment.
II he has no taste for literature, he will not
give you verdict on Tennyson's latest
poem or Emerson's new volume of ESSAYS
II he is signorant about painting, he will not
write to the newspapers his impressions of
Michael Angelo or his candid estimate of
Bierstadt. But when there is a question of
music all his modesty and good sense dis
appear. Upon that subject he will dis
course you with an effrontery that is almost
sublime; and if he knows nothing about it
he Is rather inclined to boast of his irnor.
ance, and fancy that it gives him special
claim to be heard. In this alone of all tba
arts he bows to no authority and recognizes
the need of no technical knowledge. lie
Will balance Beethoven and Dan BRYANT
Lohengrin and Ella Grande Duchesse." g"
with all the composure of Jove; and after
remarking that he is entirely unacouainted
with the rudiments of the art, and does not
claim any sort of musical cultivation. he
VIII lay down the law for managers and per.
formers, or dismiss the verdict of genera.
/
Who has not seen a score of such letters
as the one which begins as follows in a
Hartford paper? "The writer of This
efiuslon makes no pretension to having
scientific taste or a critical ear for nusic
not even to an acquaintance with the repu-
lation parlance requisite to write with pro.
prlety on the subject His desire is simnlv
to give some candid, unscientifc. and Nor.
haps home-brewed notions rs to what kind
OF music suits this market best. or at anv
rate ms crude musical palate" And then.
having demonstrated the entire worthless.
ness OF his opinion, he proceeds to give If
with considerable vehemence, and without
glimmering suspicion that he can possibly
be saying anything foolish. He cannot un.
derstand why people should crowd the
Thomas concerts to listen to "a stcreotyped
salnencss Of colcky, inharmonious and hair.
pulling discords," but he is satisfied that
they cannot possibly like what Thomas
oilers them, because it does not suit his
own crude musical palate; and he is con.
vnccd that Thomas will soon play to en,ptv
benches if he does not give us more har-
mony, melody, and music now and then
after the American idea ''-whatayer that
may be-
The avidity with which people who are
sensible enough on other topics will seek
for opportunities to be absurd on the one
subject Of music is curions phenomenon.
This Hartford gentleman would no doubt
laugh at a man who being entirely igno
rant alike of seamanship, naval architcc.
ture, steam engineering and ordnance
should write for the newspapers a criticism
upon the plans, armament and machinery
OF the Vanguard and the Iron Duke, from
the point OF view of an unscientific outsider
having mot even an acquaintance with the
regulation parlance requisite to write with
propriety on the subject" Is it anv less
ridiculous to criticise a symphony as colicly
and inharmonious, when one does not know
what a symphony is or what harmony is.
and makes no pretension to a scientific
taste or a critical carp" Yet he is only
one out of ten thousand. The critics with.
out taste, knowledge, or ear, annoy us at
every musical performance, discourse at
every dinner table, and hold forth at every
club. We suspect the explanation of their
persistency may be found in common
misconception of the proper function of
music. 1t is the most popular of the arts
and there is vague general notion that il |
tulflls its highest aim when it affects most |
forcibly the fancy of the great uncultivated |
multitude. This Of course is entirely |
wrong. The best music, like the best paint. |
ing and the best statuary, is Incompetent.
sible except by the educated mind. There
are thousands who prefer Prang to Correp.
gio, and see more beauty in a colored plaster
cat than the Venus of Milo. There are
thousands who are moved by the Mulligan
Guards and insensible to the SEVENTY
Symphony. That is only to say that in all
stages of art the majority never get beyond
its rudimentary forms. But it is only with
the higher intelligences that art really con.
Germs itself. To them it speaks language
which others cannot understand. In their
appreciation it finds the justification for its
existence
The musician who tries to suit only "the
crude musical palate" is mere Snowman,
false to his calling and curse to the art
which he profapes. lie is check upon
popular progress, corrupter of taste, an
incubus upon the developing culture of his
country. And the great merit of the
orchestra which our Hartford friend dis
tinguishes byhs criticism is that instead of
calculating what will suit the market, it is
leading the people onward and
upward, enlarging their powers of apprecia.
ton, and opening to them new sources of
enjoyment.--N y. Tribune.
How TO CIR RID or STuMps.-Gen. Col.
quit, of Georgia, in recent address said
TO remove stumps from a field all that is