From institutionally embedded 'serious' to individualized 'popular': a report on values and attitudes in Estonian music criticism

This article examines the values and attitudes of Estonian music criticism in print publications. The findings suggest that state-subsidized publications are characterized by Romantic ideology, professionalism, and tradition, and cover almost exclusively classical music, whereas commercial publications review mostly popular music and adopt a more individualized, less normative attitude to music. While transnational studies have referred to the growing legitimation of the 'popular' in elite publications, the high-low discrimination evident in Estonian state-subsidized music journalism upholds the dominant cultural value hierarchy. This could be embedded in the institutional framework of Estonian music culture and its Soviet heritage.