A few words about critics

In our May Letters section, our music critic Dan Coren joins Robert Zaller in lamenting Christoph Eschenbach’s imminent departure from the Philadelphia Orchestra, which Coren blames on the animus of Inquirer critic Peter Dobrin. In reply, reader Rod Goodwin suggests that the Orchestra is well rid of Eschenbach and offers his own “key ingredients for a rigorous classical music critic,” to wit: “a) doing one's homework, b) talking to others who know as much or more about music and c) listening to and seeing in-person great gobs of, yes, music.”

Can I get a word in here?

1. Goodwin is free to shop for music criticism wherever he likes. If he wants a critic who develops a consensus judgment by surveying expert opinion before writing a review, I suppose there are plenty such critics around. Me, I look for an individual’s authoritative insight and honest evaluation. I pay Zaller and Coren (poorly, to be sure) in order to learn what they think of concerts and musicians, not what everybody else thinks. Zaller and Coren enjoy Eschenbach; Dobrin doesn’t. Are these critics (pro or con) supposed to suppress their honest reactions for the sake of some broader agenda? If they merely reflect the general consensus, what value do they bring to the table (other than that of a mirror)?

2. Some critics perceive themselves as defenders of art from schlockmeisters. The film critic John Simon once believed that his mission in life was to discourage Barbra Streisand from making any more movies, a mission he pursued by ridiculing her nose at every opportunity. I prefer a critic who speaks to me, not to the artists and producers he writes about.

3. The power of critics to make or break performers is vastly overrated. Eschenbach is a big boy who’s been through a lot worse than bad reviews. He was left a speechless orphan at age five after witnessing the death of his grandmother and great-grandmother, for goodness’ sake. If after surviving the Nazis he can’t handle hostile critics wielding pens, he has no business conducting a major-league orchestra.

4. Dan Coren is on to something when he remarks that the Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin “is a solid journalist with much valuable insight about the Philadelphia musical scene.” As a journalist, Dobrin has worked hard to cultivate sources within the Philadelphia Orchestra, which is good. But having cultivated those sources, he relies on them excessively, which is bad. What musicians (not to mention soldiers, athletes, cops and White House servants) may think of their leaders is of passing interest but not necessarily critical to the end result. George Szell, Leopold Stokowski and Herbert von Karajan elicited beautiful sounds from musicians who hated them. A journalist gathers information; a critic provides independent judgment. The two functions don't always go hand in hand.