Charles Acton (25 April 1914 – 22 April 1999) was the
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
at ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' for thirty-one years until his retirement in 1987. He was one of only two critics based outside Great Britain to be a member of
The Critics' Circle
The Critics' Circle is the national Professional association, professional body of United Kingdom, British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics ...
.
Early life
He was born Charles Ball-Acton in the village of
Iron Acton
Iron Acton is a village, civil parish and former manor in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it jus ...
, in what is now
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...
in England.
[Gareth Cox, "Charles Acton", ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''](_blank)
(retrieved 7 January 2011). His family was of
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
stock, having been landowners in
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
since the reign of
King Charles I. His branch of the family included among its more notable members, the historian,
Lord Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he wr ...
.
Charles Acton's father, Major Reginald Thomas Annesley Ball-Acton, was killed at
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
in Belgium during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
when Charles was only two. His mother, Isabel (née Richmond), remarried and lived until 1971. Acton was educated at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
and later studied
natural science
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
s at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, although he left in 1936 without taking his degree.
In 1939, Acton came to Ireland, having inherited the family estate at Kilmacurragh,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
. Having tried unsuccessfully to run it as a country house hotel, he eventually sold the property, and it is now part of th
National Botanic Gardens Meanwhile, Acton undertook a series of diverse jobs for which he was ill-suited, including that of travelling salesman for ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
''. Eventually, in 1955, he found his niche when he was appointed music critic at ''The Irish Times''.
[''The Irish Times'', "Eye-opening life of our 'charming, irksome' critic", 15 June 2010.]
Career
Although never formally trained in music, Acton had a keen interest in the subject from an early age. As a child he played piano,
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
and
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
. He listened to concerts on
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
and, in his early twenties, he visited
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
where he saw
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
and
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss.
Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Germ ...
conduct.
At Rugby, he became friends with the Irish composer
Brian Boydell (1917–2000).
Over the course of his career as ''Irish Times'' music critic, Acton reviewed over 6,000 concerts.
He could be quite scathing in his observations, and some musicians were so upset by his criticism that they refused to perform if he was present.
Yet, he was also in love with music and could be greatly moved by a particularly sensitive performance. Columnist
Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary".
Myers is kno ...
described him at the end of a concert "mop
ing
Ing, ING or ing may refer to:
Art and media
* '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film
* i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group
* The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes''
* "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...
the tears from his large round cheeks with an even larger white handkerchief".
Throughout his time as music critic, Acton campaigned for better resources for classical music in Ireland. He was a leading light in the
Music Association of Ireland
The Music Association of Ireland (MAI) was set up in 1948 to improve the position of classical music within the cultural life of Ireland. It was instrumental in setting up the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland and played a leading role in the lo ...
during its early years. As a result of his lobbying of
Radio Éireann
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
became the home of the first resident
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
of any broadcasting station in the world.
[''The Irish Times'', "A critic who helped to put Irish music centre stage", 28 April 1999.] For over twenty years he argued for investment in a national concert hall, highlighting Ireland's unique status as the only European nation without such a facility. In September 1981, his efforts met with success when the inaugural concert at Dublin's new
National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...
took place. Acton was present to mark the historic event and to review the performances.
Although he retired officially as music critic at ''The Irish Times'' in 1987, Acton continued as an occasional concert reviewer for a further two years alongside his successor, Michael Dervan.
For many years, Acton also wrote articles on musical life in Ireland for ''Éire-Ireland'', the quarterly journal of the
Irish American Cultural Institute
The Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI) is an American cultural group founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota by Dr. Eoin McKiernan in 1962. The group's purpose is to promote an intelligent appreciation of Ireland and the role and contributions o ...
.
Honours
In 1970, Acton was invited to join
The Critics' Circle
The Critics' Circle is the national Professional association, professional body of United Kingdom, British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics ...
and was, apart from
Clive Barnes
Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, ''The New York Post.'' Barnes had sign ...
, the only member based outside Britain.
Acton was awarded the first Sean O'Boyle Award in 1980 for his services to
Irish traditional music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...
.
In 1990, he was elected a fellow of the
Royal Irish Academy of Music
The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution which ...
and, eight years later, was elected vice-president.
Personal life
In 1951, Acton married Carol Little, a violin teacher. They lived together in
Carrickmines
Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...
, County Dublin, until his death at the age of eighty four.
[''The Guardian'', Obituary, 29 April 199]
He is buried in the family graveyard in Dunganstown,
Co. Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
.
Bibliography
* Gareth Cox (ed.): ''Acton's Music. Reviews 1955–1985'' (Bray, County Wicklow: Kilbride Books, 1996), .
*
Richard Pine
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
: ''Charles. The Life and World of Charles Acton'' (Dublin: Lilliput Press, 2010), .
* Charles Gannon
''John S. Beckett – The Man and the Music''(Dublin: Lilliput Press, 2016).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acton, Charles
1914 births
1999 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
People of Anglo-Irish descent
Classical music critics
Classical music in Ireland
Irish music critics
Irish music journalists
People educated at Rugby School
People from Carrickmines
People from South Gloucestershire District