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July 17, 2005

The Critic's Role(s)

I think with the English music scene largely centered in London, the discourse resembles a conversation because most critics are going to the same venues and hearing the same performers. Whereas in the U.S., most of us are spread out in different cities, each with its unique history, circumstances and organizations, which mitigates against debate on what are locally oriented beats.

I'm not a fan of trashing fellow critics in print because 1. it's nasty and non-collegial and 2. we're all embattled enough as it is dealing with shrinking space for classical music coverage without blood-letting among each other.

That said, I think Doug is on to something when he mentions a "detached" quality to music reviews in the U.S. I try to provide as much "counterpoint" as possible from reader letters and e-mails, which is an imperfect solution.

I think it's also the case that many of us err on the side of safety and not making waves in reviews----with a lofty Olympian nod of the head to performances that are really nothing special. It's a fine line to walk to be encouraging without becoming a cheerleader.

One also sometimes encounters a kind of clubby, "we're all friends here" attitude, which can be disastrous. If an opera company has lost its artistic moorings or the juice has gone out of a music director's relationship with his orchestra years ago, we have a responsibility to say so unequivocally or else we're colluding in keeping the mediocrity going.

Clearly, one doesn't want to bring out the heavy artillery daily just for the sake of a good punchline. But along with the advances, interviews and upcoming event briefs, it's essential to have passionate reviews and trend pieces that say what needs to be said even if it infuriates some people. If my editors don't get several calls a season from some outraged administrator or musician demanding that I be fired, I'm probably doing something wrong.

Lawrence A. Johnson

Posted by ljohnson at July 17, 2005 05:27 PM

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