Describing a music event

Task 1. When you criticise, you normally try to find faults rather than virtues, but it certainly does not exclude the expressions of virtue. Study the following dia­logue where the characters exchange their opinions about a jazz concert.

Liz and Michael on the way home from a jazz concert.

Michael: Perhaps you might consider me a bit of a fanatic about jazz... but that was a fantastic concert, wasn't it?

Liz: I'm not exactly — how shall I say? I suppose I'm not crazy about jazz, and the melodies were hard to follow. Could you perhaps help me to understand it better?

Michael: I've tried to helpmany people... I've done my bestto open a jazz club, so I've become quite good atinterpreting jazz, though I had no one to rely on. Anyway, in the first place there are two elements in jazz. One is the playing of instru­ments so that they sound like the half-shouted, half-sung blues of Negro folksong. The other is the steady, unchanging 1-2-3-4 beat initiated from the French military marching music the blacks heard in New Orleans where jazz was born around 1900.

Liz: Well, I'm an easy-going person really unless of course you start discussing jazz. Then I'm a bit vicious. Basically I'm receptive to any music that has harmony and melody. That's me. But I didn't even recognize any of the tunes, though I have heard some jazz music before.

Michael: Well, that's not surprising, since another important feature of jazz is " improvisation" or " making it up as you go along", therefore tunes can sound different each time you hear them.

Liz: Well, I think I've kept myself — yes, I've kept myself respectable — that's the word I'duse — respectable and dignified on my appreciation of jazz. The musicians played with great skill and speed. And when they improvised they played a completely new variation of the basic tune every time.

Michael: Absolutely. That's one of the greatest thrills of a jazz session. Tunes are not the most important feature of jazz. It's not the composer but the performer who makes a good piece of jazz. In fact it's almost impossible to write down much of a jazz in musical notes!

Liz: In that case jazz is rather elicit and separate from other kinds of music, if only the performer knows what's being played. I say, get rid of these thugs who call themselves professional musicians — get rid of them.

Michael: Professional or not, you leave the musician out of it for a while. As for jazz, it has influenced many kinds of music, particularly pop which still borrows from jazz its beat, its singing style and its improvisation.

Liz: You shouldn't be asking me what I think of jazz... But what I think of rock music... this music is a mess.

Michael: But how do you explain the fact that hundreds and thousands of young people simply go mad over rock music? For example, I listened to Shubert's messes. I'm not saying that I didn't understand them. As a matter of fact I enjoyed listening to them. But music like that isn't able to give me anything new, whereas rock music feels a thousand times nearer, more immediate.

Liz: No, Michael, I'm unable to understand it. And that's probably my main fault, I should say. Then... Professional musicians are always neatly dressed... But heavy metal rock players! Well... you'd have to see them to believe it!

Michael: So you're the sort of ordinary decent person who wants to restore the position of classical music.

Liz: Yes and no... But I'll let you have the last word on jazz and I'll stick to my own opinion on rock.

Task 2. Answer the following questions on the dialogue in Task 1:

1) What major features of jazz music are discussed in the dialogue?

2) Sum up Michael’s and Liz’s attitude to jazz in a couple of sentences.

3) How do Michael and Liz feel about rock music?

4) Do you agree with all that is said in the dialogue? In what statements concerning jazz or rock music do you find the criticism appropriate?

5) Are you fond of jazz and rock? Why (not)?

6) Have you ever been to a live concert? What is your impression of it?

Task 3. Most of the expressions which you found in the dialogue in Task 1 are used to criticise something or somebody. Below is a review of the Russian Festival of Music in which a Scottish journalist extols the virtues of Russian music. Read the text and note down any useful expressions in giving a positive appraisal of music.