ABSTRACT
Chapter 1, 'Contexts', outlines the ubiquitous need for the reform of music critics all over England – from London to the provinces – in the nineteenth century. It argues that the need for reform cut across class and demography and was initiated by readers and editors. Outlined is the argument that criticism was seen as a common good, a moral endeavour for the betterment of learning, letters and mankind. Consideration is given to the demographics of newspapers, their editors and readers to understand the social and cultural climate in which music criticism was produced and the audiences for whom it was intended. There is a focus on the rise of interest in music as both a leisure and intellectual interest and the need for criticism to inform and educate. It argues for a rethink of the historiography of music criticism in late nineteenth-century England arguing against the relevance of the term 'Victorian' in such narratives and discourses.
