functional

Kazuo Ishiguroの "The Unconsoled" を読んでいます。

At first I was careful to keep my thoughts to myself, but eventually I asked him if he'd enjoyed Mr Christoff's recital. Yes, he had, Mr Kohler said. There must have been something about the way he'd said it, because I recall asking him again a few moments later if he'd enjoyed the concert. This time Mr Kohler said yes, he'd enjoyed himself, but perhaps Mr Christoff's performance had been a little functional. Yes, "functional" was the word he used. As you can imagine, sir, I thought carefully before I next spoke.

"functional" は直ぐに機能的を連想させますが、ここでの "functional" は余り褒めているようには聞こえません。　辞書を見ます。

・Cambridge English Dictionary: designed to be practical and useful rather than attractive: functional clothing

やはり、デザインや音楽などでは単に "functional" だけでは魅力に欠けるのですね。すくなくともプロに対しては "functional" はむしろ酷評かも知れません。