I have recently become obsessed with HECTOR BERLIOZ. His Symphonie Fantastique is tremendous. This made me research this Gentleman further when I was disturbed to find out the following:

Only 'absolute music' is the most profound music. Programme music, narrative music is of lesser quality

Now, the question I am asking is I fear, too broad, but I cannot think of people better to share it with, than you.

What do we mean by this? Didn't the whole Romantic era consist of motifs and themes that often attempted to describe the feelings and thoughts of the composer at the current time? It narrated the thoughts and feelings of the composer, no? BERLIOZ aside, composers, like literary writers, wrote about what they knew. Didn't Pathétique Symphony No.6 by Tchaikovsky teach us this? If you think of the whole Romantic era, this was huge, many composers often attempted to try and convey their very thoughts. Isn't this what the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Esa-Pekka Salonen is saying. How bizarre it is that people feel Programme music is not 'complete'?

I am about to ridicule myself terribly but music is music. If it's great, it's great. Why should we let musical form get in the way of this? There is no way we should - is there?

So how does he have a point here?