Christmas Day Essay – A QAS Tradition

Christmas Day Essay – A QAS Tradition

It has been tradition within the music department at Queen Anne’s for the last ten years for the Sixth Form pupils to complete a challenging Christmas Day essay! This year they were subjected to the polemical work of Hans Keller and the girls responded in true Queen Anne’s style with great enthusiasm and eagerness to take part in the fun.

“The respective pupils really challenged the statements made by Keller, in particular the role of the conductor and teacher. Ideas were presented clearly and in a logical coherent manner. The submitted essays succeeded in developing a set of reasoned and convincing arguments in relation to the question. The essays displayed effective and sophisticated analytical and evaluative skills and a times good humour. The pupils were not daunted in any way by this activity; their essays were clearly and precisely placed in an academic context.

Congratulations to the wonderful Sixth Form A Level Music pupils!” Mr Richards, Senior Deputy Head Academic.

Christmas Day Essay – Sixth Form

Saturday 25 December 2021

The music writer Hans Keller (1919-1985), who was born in Vienna and lived and worked in Britain from 1938, including 20 years with the BBC, was a notorious controversialist. His posthumously published book, Criticism opens with his thoughts on a list of what he calls ‘phoney professions’. Such professions include:

•             The viola player

•             The opera producer

•             The conductor

•             The music critic

•             The musicologist

•             The editor

•             Teacher

•             The psychoanalyst

Keller himself filled a number of these roles, including not just music critic and broadcaster, but also teacher and psychoanalyst.

How do you react to his polemical statements about ‘phoney professions?’

Word limit 500-750 words.

Please submit on Saturday 25 December 2021 at 1455hrs, 5 minutes before the Queen’s Christmas message.