'Lessons in sensibility': Rosa Newmarch, Music Appreciation, and the Aesthetic Cultivation of the Self

Abstract

This article explores the work of Rosa Harriet Newmarch (1857-1940) as programme-note writer for the Queen's Hall concerts in the early twentieth century. It argues that her vividly poetic style was influenced by the legacy of Victorian Aestheticism, particularly the writings of Walter Pater. Although Pater rarely discussed music, Newmarch used his writings to challenge the influence of Eduard Hanslick, whose formalist approach to music criticism emphasized the primacy of the work itself. Comparisons are made with Vernon Lee, who, like Newmarch, stressed the crucial role played by the audience in constituting aesthetic meaning through the process of reception.