The Art of Appreciation: Music and Middlebrow Culture in Modern Britain. By Kate Guthrie.

"The Art of Appreciation: Music and Middlebrow Culture in Modern Britain" by Kate Guthrie is a book that examines middlebrow initiatives to foster appreciation of classical music in Britain between the 1920s and the early 1960s. The book explores how debates around cultural hierarchies shaped the aesthetic and stylistic forms of middlebrow cultural products and their reception. It focuses on various middlebrow initiatives, including concerts for children, BBC programs, documentary films, and avant-garde educational innovations. The author discusses the concerns about superficial engagement with art music and the coarsening of public taste during this period. However, the book lacks synoptic linkages and contrasts between the chapters and does not thoroughly explore the political derivations and implications of taste. The author also highlights the unease about the commercialism of middlebrow initiatives but does not evaluate the class position of those who opposed them. The book concludes with an examination of Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto for Turntable and Orchestra and its critical reception. Overall, the book provides a detailed analysis of middlebrow initiatives in music education and their impact on cultural access in Britain. [Extracted from the article]