Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the reception history of new English music in the Victorian and Edwardian press and discusses an assessment of its cultural and political importance. It explores aspects of the symbiotic relationship between the watchmen and the English composers which they promoted in their columns. The book shows that how the watchmen sought to give leadership both in terms of the formation of composers' reputations and in moulding the taste of the musical public. It identifies three composers who were of particular importance to the watchmen: Arthur Sullivan, Hubert Parry and Edward Elgar. The choice of these three arose out of reading the source material and was not pre-imposed. The book presents the politics of music criticism, as well as the impact of the press on the canon-formation and on the creation of an English Musical Renaissance.