33 - Music Criticism in France since the Second World War

Summary

The following chapter is devoted to music criticism in France from the Occupation (1940) to the present day, embracing some seventy-five years of writing in the general, non-academic press. Explicitly philosophical criticism destined for specialised, intellectual readerships is not addressed, but this chapter does broach the place of other writing on music. Indeed, critics during this period also played a broader journalistic role, writing editorial pieces, reporting on musical life and conducting interviews.

The categories of media producing music criticism in France rapidly diversified during the second half of the twentieth century. While the rise of television, the golden age of the magazine and the advent of the Internet are of course worldwide phenomena, factors such as France’s strong centralisation, its unique geopolitical role during the Second World War and the Cold War, and the enduring ties between the nation’s government and its media have led to local variations of universal media trends that have affected music criticism. These include the spectacular post-war boom (and bust) of new daily newspapers, the creation of unique French monthly news magazines and the heyday of the Minitel, among others.