{"id":193,"date":"2011-12-18T15:59:21","date_gmt":"2011-12-18T23:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/?p=193"},"modified":"2011-12-18T15:59:21","modified_gmt":"2011-12-18T23:59:21","slug":"the-excellence-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2011\/12\/the-excellence-problem.html","title":{"rendered":"The Excellence Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If I built the best-ever VCR, would you rush out to buy it? Of course not. Even though my VCR might be the most excellent VCR, no one cares about VCRs anymore.<\/p>\n

Being excellent at something no one cares about doesn’t get you very far. What was excellent yesterday doesn’t necessarily matter today. If I’m all about apples and you bring me oranges, I don’t care how good the oranges are.<\/p>\n

So when orchestras or theatre companies say they are “excellent” what do they mean? Playing all the right notes? Performing in tune? The actors remember all their lines? These definitions of excellence are so common, there’s barely any point in mentioning them. So what makes the New York Philharmonic more excellent than the Toledo Symphony? Or the LA Philharmonic? They play the notes better? Their interpretation of the music is in some way better?<\/p>\n

When the general level of musician technique was lower, orchestras with players who could perform technically brilliantly stood out. Over the past 30 years the level of technical excellence has improved to the point where we expect technical competence as a normal thing, so technical competence is no longer the definition of excellent. That’s average. And how many people can tell a meaningful difference?<\/p>\n

Connoisseurs are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a great bottle of wine. But if I can’t tell the difference between a Chateau Margaux 1995 and a bottle of Two Buck Chuck, the $400+ price tag on the Margaux makes no sense. Appreciation of excellence has to be learned, experienced.<\/p>\n

The arts can be excellent. But for some reason we seem to have difficulty articulating their excellence in terms that matter to a large audience, so we resort to easy descriptions that mean nothing to most people. And when they go and can’t discern the “excellence” they’ve been told about, how do they feel about returning?<\/p>\n

What will I feel if I hear your Beethoven? Why should I care about your Chekhov? How will I be changed by the experience? How about just telling me what the experience will be? Excellence is an over-used term. Actually, it’s a meaningless word if you don’t define it for the situation. And if you don’t define it, how will your audience learn?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I built the best-ever VCR, would you rush out to buy it? Of course not. Even though my VCR might be the most excellent VCR, no one cares about VCRs anymore. Being excellent at something no one cares about doesn’t get you very far. What was excellent yesterday doesn’t necessarily matter today. If I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-changing-culture","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/vcrincabinet.jpg?fit=1345%2C754&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-37","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3347,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/04\/aj-chronicles-the-excellence-problem-and-why-it-matters.html","url_meta":{"origin":193,"position":0},"title":"AJ Chronicles: The Excellence Problem and Why it Matters","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"April 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't mean to be pedantic, but I think defining what we mean by excellence really matters if we're going to figure out the place of AI in creativity. Four stories this week suggest layers to this debate:","rel":"","context":"In "AJ Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"AJ Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/aj-chronicles"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/igorshubin-white-mountains-4983648-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C507&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/igorshubin-white-mountains-4983648-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C507&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/igorshubin-white-mountains-4983648-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C507&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/igorshubin-white-mountains-4983648-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C507&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/igorshubin-white-mountains-4983648-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C507&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1115,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/the-new-york-philharmonics-new-hall-is-an-opportunity-to-rethink-the-orchestra-experience-and-amplify-it.html","url_meta":{"origin":193,"position":1},"title":"The New York Philharmonic’s New Hall Is An Opportunity To Rethink The Orchestra Experience (And Amplify It)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week Michael Cooper made a plea\u00a0in the NYT to the New York Philharmonic for some upgrades to the concert amenity experience when the orchestra overhauls Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher) in 2019. His list of excellent suggestions includes comfier seats (why should movie theatres be more comfortable?) more legroom,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "audience experience"","block_context":{"text":"audience experience","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/audience-experience"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Avery-Fisher.jpg?fit=1000%2C403&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Avery-Fisher.jpg?fit=1000%2C403&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Avery-Fisher.jpg?fit=1000%2C403&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Avery-Fisher.jpg?fit=1000%2C403&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3258,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/02\/when-better-than-meets-good-enough.html","url_meta":{"origin":193,"position":2},"title":"When “Better Than” meets “Good Enough”","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"February 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The question isn't whether AI will change our definition of creative excellence. The question is how we will engage with that change: with curiously and critical insight, with our existing values intact but our existing definitions loosely held? Or defending the current map as if it were the entire territory.","rel":"","context":"In "arts and AI"","block_context":{"text":"arts and AI","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-ai"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_23-2-2026_13644_www.artsjournal.com_.jpeg?fit=565%2C537&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_23-2-2026_13644_www.artsjournal.com_.jpeg?fit=565%2C537&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_23-2-2026_13644_www.artsjournal.com_.jpeg?fit=565%2C537&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":725,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/01\/editorselect-the-weeks-top-arts-and-culture-stories-01-31-16.html","url_meta":{"origin":193,"position":3},"title":"@AJDoug’s Top Arts and Culture Stories of the Week for 01.31.16","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"January 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A new music director at the New York Phil. Some things we're learning about audiences. Some ways of analyzing writing. And the police who mistake a man singing opera for urgent screaming.","rel":"","context":"In "Weekly AJ Top Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Weekly AJ Top Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/weekly-aj-top-stories"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/22artsbeat-florence-blog480.jpg?fit=480%2C320&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/04\/theatre_celeb_journalism_and_j.html","url_meta":{"origin":193,"position":4},"title":"Theatre, Celeb Journalism, And Journalism","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"April 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Two articles over on the ARTicles blog at the National Arts Journalism Program. First, Laura Collins-Hughes has a take on this year's Pulitzer for theatre and why it's important that the finalists are all women:...women playwrights are vastly underrepresented on our stages. Because \"diversity\" isn't just a buzzword. The Pulitzer\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2007\/11\/rethinking_mass_culture.html","url_meta":{"origin":193,"position":5},"title":"Rethinking Mass Culture","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"November 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"We're consumed by the idea of mass culture. Since television (and before it, radio) brought the immediacy of produced culture into our living rooms, we've treated the power of a massive aggregated audience with awe. That something is popular enough to attain common currency means it has power. Mass culture\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}