Greypins@a... wrote:
>
> seriously, has anyone ever wondered why critics exist? if you went,
> why do you need some bitter psychopath to tell you what to think and, if you
> didn't go, what good is a verbal description? and, speaking of which, why
> don't more of us site specific, well known examples when making a point?
Mike, you do know better than to generalize from a bad
example or two! The best critics, like the best writers,
show us a new way of looking at (hearing) what we think we
already know. It matters little to me whether I agree with
the best critics' opinions of a particular performance or
work; it's what they write and how they write it I admire.
Check out George Bernard Shaw's music reviews (there are
several collections). I also have always liked Andrew
Porter years ago in the New Yorker (he's also well known for
his singing translations of opera). And I'm very fond of
Tim Page, who won the Pulitzer a few years back, who is
again writing music reviews for The Washington Post. And I
admire the ability of Anne Midgette, a relatively new critic
for the NY Times, to describe vocal performances (she MUST
be a singer), which I've tried and know how hard it is to
do.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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