tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post9050857527385455342..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Music Critic in ResidenceBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-69787057803653137872015-09-02T08:45:17.501-05:002015-09-02T08:45:17.501-05:00I think you can set up Google alerts or something ...I think you can set up Google alerts or something that will notify you whenever something appears with your name in it.<br /><br />Yes, I did lament the dumbing down, but in another post, Sober Second Thoughts, I praised the online community that we find here and in other places on the web. I think that the opening up of channels of communication will have enormous effects over the years. It is no longer possible for a few media outlets to enforce their interpretation of events on the populace or, even worse, simply refuse to report on those events that reflect badly on their favored politicians.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-25312347941750788802015-09-01T14:11:30.257-05:002015-09-01T14:11:30.257-05:00Wow! That was an impressive exchange. Thoughtful a...Wow! That was an impressive exchange. Thoughtful and thought provoking. I wonder how he found your post if he isn't a regular reader? The internet is a miracle isn't it? I'm old enough to appreciate the wonder of it. You lamented in another post the dumbing down of the population but has there ever been in the history of the world a time when so many people could read and write and have access to incredible sources of knowledge and inspiration like your blog for example? Christine Lacroixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02006109075551438090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-72089357948696225112014-11-08T16:51:02.431-06:002014-11-08T16:51:02.431-06:00Hi Joshua,
Wow, the Internet never ceases to amaz...Hi Joshua,<br /><br />Wow, the Internet never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for such a wonderful response to my post. I take your points in detail and thanks so much for filling in the blanks for me. Making a noise about the importance of criticism in the broadest sense is one of my core reasons for doing my blog, so thanks for saying that. I couldn't agree more with your approach to the ordinary citizens.<br /><br />Well yes, writing a negative review offers so many more opportunities for humor and just general entertainment, doesn't it?<br /><br />Thanks again for the comment. Come back anytime!<br /><br />Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-21229110930758130252014-11-08T14:35:44.689-06:002014-11-08T14:35:44.689-06:00Bryan, thanks so much for this kind and very thoug...Bryan, thanks so much for this kind and very thoughtful post. Just to respond to a few of your points:<br /><br />1) What is this Institute for, given the current employment situation? I agree that this is a vexing question; some thoughts on the matter are <a href="http://irontongue.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-problem-is-rubin-institute-trying.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://kalimac.livejournal.com/762066.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. At the risk of seeming to speak for the conceivers and organizers of this project (of which I am very definitely not one), I think the rationale is basically to a) train young musicians in habits of evaluation, communication and engagement that are broadly valuable even in the absence of a paid staff position, and b) to make some kind of public noise about the inherent important of criticism in the broadest sense – i.e., a public discourse about art. These all strike me as worthy goals, notwithstanding the very real concerns you raise.<br /><br />2) There's a piece of context missing from the video that I think might make my remarks clearer. In addition to the training sessions for the student fellows, with which I'm only tangentially connected, there's another aspect of the Institute, called the Everyone's a Critic prize, which awards $1,000 to the best review of one of these performances by an audience member. I'm heading the panel that makes that judgment, and one of the things they asked me for in this video was some words of guidance for lay folk who had probably never considered undertaking such a thing before.<br /><br />So the "you" in the passage you cite is meant less for the students – who all do have a certain amount of training and expertise in music – than for ordinary citizens, who are most likely to feel that their lack of training or expertise limits the validity of their judgment. It's an understandable impulse – "I'm just an ordinary joe, what do I know?" – but it's one that I wanted to push back against fairly strongly.<br /><br />Also, too (as Ms. Palin would say), I don't think being "right" is particularly relevant or important in the scheme of things, either for amateur or professional critics. What matters is being able to make your case soundly and persuasively, and you can only do that if you proceed from your own experience as a given. Make the listener hear what you heard, rather than what you think they might have heard had they been there and been you.<br /><br />3) Finally: Yes, it is easier to write a negative review than a positive one, always. You've made a good case for how one could write a detailed positive review, and I agree. But I didn't say it was impossible, I just said it was harder than the converse. That Fischer-Dieskau rave you envision would take a lot of time and energy and attention to detail; you could write a takedown of poor Andrea Bocelli that was just as accurate, as well as being mean and funny and memorable, in a quarter of the time.Joshua Kosmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14344510388923390436noreply@blogger.com