Abstract

This paper revolves around four questions, preceded by an introductory section attempting to shine a clarifying light on concepts such as "hermeneutics", "music criticism" and "time", while taking the last on a brief journey through the history of philosophy. An integral and integrating factor, time exerts its influence on music criticism and hermeneutics. The music critic approaches his field from four temporal angles – kairós (the supreme moment), chrónos (historical time), nûn (the present time) and aion (timelessness) – and therefore follows four corresponding orientations: "what does he write?"; "for whom does he write?"; "when/how is he established?" and "what is his purpose?". Four "variations "on Romeo Ghircoiașiu`s flowchart, developed in 1979 and published in the Muzica journal, provide us with just as many graphical representations of the critical act, one for each of the cases in question. Joining us on our ideational journey will be the philosophers Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Bruno, Bacon, Spinoza, Kant and Hegel and the critics and musicologists Martin Cooper, Winton Dean, Bojan Bujić, Adrian Marino, Luminița Vartolomei and Romeo Ghircoiașiu. The conclusion offers a retrospective look over the entire scientific endeavour, ending on Maryvonne Perrot`s tone: "are we not ourselves the dishevelled bundle of a multitude of other times?"

Keywords: music criticism, hermeneutics, time, kairós, kairotic moment, chrónos, historical time, nûn, present time, aion, timelessness, Romeo Ghircoiașiu

Download article