Bad Commentator

The Music Salon has been extremely blessed with its commentators, a wonderfully knowledgeable group. But this week, for only the third time, I have had to ban a commentator. The first time was years and years ago when casual mention of Narciso Yepes, a guitarist I rather like, led to a vicious war between one critic and a couple of deranged supporters. I had to shut down the whole discussion. This is what led to my now moderating all comments. Then there was a single obscene and nasty comment a couple of years later and I don't even recall the post. Until this week, that was it. Absolutely amazing considering this is the Internet. The vast, vast majority of the thousands of comments that have appeared here have been excellent contributions to the discussion.

But as I say, we had an objectionable one this week on my post Bach vs Beethoven. I would like to share it with you. Here is the whole comment:

Comparing composers is a childish waste of time and anyone involved is such an endeavor needs seriously to re-examine their lives.

Worse, is the declaration that one genius is "superior" to another.

Just shut up, keep your opinions to yourself (they are meaningless anyway) and enjoy the music.

I didn't block this one, but allowed it to be published as it is such an excellent example of a certain kind of attitude--and eminently enjoyable as such. Notice the absolute certainty with which these half-witted opinions are expressed. Anyone who compares composers needs to "seriously re-examine their lives." I'll get right on that! All composers are geniuses so one cannot be superior to another. Ah, the tyranny of equity! I have run into that before. Then the elegant call for cancelation: "Just shut up" he explained. And, the final touch: your opinions are meaningless, while mine are absolute truth. I don't think I have ever run into a clearer example of intellectual fascism!

Delightful!

Let's hear a little Narciso Yepes for our envoi. Here he is with a Scarlatti sonata.

And 7,245 Comments!

I really have to acknowledge the contribution made by my commentators on this blog. They are a great group that really stand out in my view. The Internet is full of trolls and just nasty people, but they almost never find their way to this blog (though I did get a flurry of spam comments this past week advertising escorts in India?!?). Indeed, except for one incident relating to guitarist Narciso Yepes that brought a host of weird and off-topic comments, I have only ever had to delete one comment due to slander and obscenity. That has got to be an Internet record.

Instead, my commentators are a fair and reasonable lot with considerable knowledge and education. If I ever misspell or misuse a Latin quote I have at least two commentators who will correct me. I have had well-known music critics and composers leave informative comments and we have had extended debates with professors of music. This is all as delightful as it is rare!

I have noticed that some online publications, such as the Globe and Mail, have ceased to allow online comments and I think their value suffers as a result. The Wall Street Journal comments are extremely useful as I nearly always consult them after reading any opinion piece. They are an invaluable corrective. It is very heartening to see how very savvy the commentators are, as a group.

So here's to you! Praise to my commentators and may they live long and prosper.

Time for more celebratory music. This is the Symphony No. 48, "Maria Theresa" by Joseph Haydn, played by The Academy of Ancient Music, conducted by Christopher Hogwood:

Does anyone know a composer more sheerly delightful than Haydn? Ok, Mozart, possibly...

Blog Comments

When I started this blog I had a couple of models. I didn't see the music blogs as being ideal models so I thought of a couple of non-music blogs that I read from time to time: Instapundit and Ann Althouse. The former is a blog by a law professor with a libertarian orientation who was one of the first bloggers and currently has something like seven or eight hundred thousand viewers a day. A link from him, of which I have had one, generates so much traffic that it is known far and wide as an "Instalaunch". Ann Althouse is also a law professor, but politically neutral. She posts a variety of different things. Instapundit, Glenn Harlan Reynolds, allows no comments, but the comment section at Althouse is very active. I was originally hoping, with some provocative posts, to spark some lively discussions, but that hasn't happened. Occasionally there are comments and even more occasionally they lead to a debate in the comments, but not often. At Althouse everyone has an opinion they want to share. But here, I have the impression that mostly people just read the posts and enjoy the music. If someone thinks I'm off base, they leave a comment as Joel Lo Observador did on this post: http://themusicsalon.blogspot.mx/2012/06/this-is-your-brain-on-avant-garde-music.html

I suppose this means that most readers are either more or less in agreement or don't quite feel qualified to question my observations. Perhaps this is because music can be a rather technical field and certainly is the way I blog about it. I usually want to get into the nuts and bolts a bit, just as a contrast to the excessively rhapsodic discussion you usually find in the mass media.

But let me encourage everyone to leave a comment if you feel moved. I find that they are very helpful. After Joel's comment I stepped up to modify and expand my original thoughts.

That's all for this morning as I have other things to get to. I'm working on a post on Music and Plato with special reference to Bach that may have, it if comes together correctly, some original thoughts. In the meantime, to get you prepped, have a listen to this: