 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-04-29 19:28
DEAR Ken
As they say there is no pleasing critics...I remember with our orchestra a number of years ago we had a critic who was so incredibly hard on the orchestra that finally people got fed up and he got kicked off the local paper...for him the orchestra was simply a place to vent negative feedback and talk about his former "glory" as a concert pianist..which by the way was a very narrow margin in terms of time. This critic also made enemies of just about everyone on the local papaer and in the arts community as well...
As to orchestra's like Cleveland asking for shares in recording and radio broadcast rights it really is a hard one to make a fair accessment. It is so costly to run and pay and orchestra there is no doubt some fairness in deriving some money from broadcasting..
'
As to Philadelphia I tend to find the critic here to be on less of sure ground...sure orchestras tend to have off days...there is no doubt Philadelphia as well as Berlin can play far below par. This is just life. As to taking it to the level that they are incapable of their "former Glory" is hogwash. Muti may have made a great sound but he was dammed hard on the orchestra and when he left it was with relief...in fact as far as I know the Philadelphia still sounds great. It is really the recording industry that is in shambles...and to top it off alot of orcestras are going through in-house troubles. This can lead to unpolished playing and poor playing. There was no mention of the Union woes in Philly in the article....this can be a real source of tension when players and management are at oppossites.
Berlin is in some ways the most overrated bunch of performers in many regards...they also have a tendency to block out letting conductors have their way. Karajan at the end of his carreer had tremendous disdain for the group, a group in some ways he helped create. Rattle is also not a German and this would be more of a factor with audiences in Germany rather than the orchestra. I also think Rattle has to be really discplined with the group because being freinds with an orchestra of this calibre...just doesn't work.
Maazel is on the radio tonight and New York is on with Davis...bit of a problem seeing I have to rehearse as well..
Regards
David Dow
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-04-30 06:23
"And I don't like anybody very much."
Not certain I'd go that far, Ken, but I sure don't like critics very much. Critics of any art always seem to have one axe or another to grind, but somehow they never reveal their real motives.
Example: I have given up almost entirely on movie critics. Joel Siegel panned the Demi Moore production of "Scarlet Letter," going on and on about how it didn't follow Hawthorne's book. Well, that was the idea, Joel. Screenwriter had researched Hawthorne for about a year to express what he thought Hawthorne would write if he were writing in the 20th century. Of course, that same Joel Siegel thought the Disney production of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" was a "wonderful family movie." Hey, the movie and book were similar only in characters and the cathedral. Victor Hugo's book is in no way a wonderful family book. Hugo was likely rotating in his crypt about that one.
A Wall Street Journal critic was virtually the only one alive to pan Kirt Vonnegut's _Slaughterhouse Five_. Curious that another Wall Street Journal critic later became the only one drawing breath who refused to review the first Harry Potter book, saying it wasn't worth it. After three Potter books, he was still hiding in his shell. By now, those J. K. Rowling "not worth it" books have earned her more than one billion dollars.
While most reviewers were falling all over one another praising Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park With George," one wrote that it was "boring." My, my... someone that easily bored must be one whale of a boring person.
Several times I've read the paper and said something like, "Hey, Ellen, you remember how we thought we were having such a good time last night? Well, it says here we didn't."
Critics? Pfehh. If they say anything bad about you, don't believe them. If they say good things, start wondering.
Regards,
John
compassionate curmudgeon
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-04-30 11:58
Ken Shaw wrote:
> And I don't like anybody very much.
Ah, the Kingston Trio ... The Merry Minuet
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-04-30 13:58
Mark -
Also, South Africans hate Yugoslavs, the Yugoslavs hate the Dutch.
Old age and treachery always overcome youth and skill. Us codgers have it all over them whippersnappers, at least before the memory banks short out.
Ken Shaw
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-04-30 14:38
When I was an undergrad at U-Md. we had a saying about the music professors:
"Those who can, do;
Those who can't, teach;
Those who can't teach, teach at Maryland".
To which I would add:
"Those who can't even teach at Maryland, become music critics."
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Author: Phat Cat
Date: 2004-04-30 14:59
Back in Ohio, we had an alternate lineage for music critics.
Those who can, play.
Those who can’t play trade their instrument for a pair of sticks and become drummers.
Those who can’t drum have one stick taken away and become conductors.
Those who can’t conduct sharpen one end of the stick and become critics.
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2004-04-30 16:28
It is interesting to read the articles concerning Philly and Rattle. Consequently, about 2 years ago I was in Philly and stopped by to see them play at the new hall. They were playing Bruckner 9. I can vouch that Verizon can certainly allow a true ffff! In fact, this concert was one of the finest I have have heard. The slouch of a conductor who brings no passion to an orchestra happened to be a guy named Simon Rattle.
Most of the time, I can understand getting defensive with critics. Years ago when I was interning with an orchestra, I played the offstage cowbell part for Mahler 6. Nothing glamorous. The critic's answer? "I could not figure out what that sound was coming from offstage. I thought perhaps it was a car junkyard with all that banging." One quick glance at the !@#$%^& program notes would have told him everything!
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Author: Tom J.
Date: 2004-04-30 17:42
Rattle and Berlin :
Overrated conductor and fine but overrated orchestra (most glamorous ???)
Eschenbach and Philly :
Tremendous conductor but the orchestra has seen better days, thay are on the decline.
Most and Cleveland :
Adequate conductor and tremendous orchestra, they deserve every penny !!!
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Author: CPW
Date: 2004-04-30 18:06
Jansons and Pittsburgh
Great conductor who is leaving a good/great but underated orch.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-04-30 21:55
Tom -
For what it's worth, I know a couple of the Cleveland players, and they tell me the orchestra loves Welser-Möst.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2004-04-30 22:35
Tom...how would you consider Rattle overrated? I have heard him live several times and each orchestra he conducts sounds fantastic. Maybe I am just catching him on the good nights! But for top conductor also, I would consider Gergiev. Amazing.
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