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The regular music reviewer for the Providence Journal (disclosures: from time to time over the past 30+ years I have written live classical concert reviews for the ProJo; and, I have had an issue or two with the writer in question on matters pertaining to Arturo Delmoni and to a JMR recording) once again has spent more time criticizing the selection of pieces of music than giving considered judgments on the performances thereof.
First in the crosshairs of the guy behind the log Saturday night was R. Strauss' "An Alpine Symphony." The critic's subhead is:
Larry Rachleff's final concert was marred by a poor choice of material, Richard Strauss' bloated, bombastic "Alpine Symphony."
And he wraps that part with:
A sold-out Vets could only muster a tepid response when this rambling, impenetrable piece that seemed like it would never end finally ran out of gas.
Not even wind machines, cowbells and a 15-foot strip of sheet metal could raise the pulse of Rachleff's adoring fans.
# # #
Thoughts, anyone?
ATB,
jm
Follow Ups:
I have several recordings of this piece that completely bore me.
Yet in the concert hall (I have heard it live twice) I have always greatly enjoyed it. I think it is a piece that doesn't work so well with repeated listening.
I remember making a special trip a few years ago to hear the Cincinnati Orchestra perform Bruckner Eight. It was an excellent concert, and a very fine performance. The local critic was completely befuddled with the work and said as much. When a critic writes such a review, they reveal themselves much more than the music.
I think you can write a fine review of a piece you dislike, but not if you are lazy, as the reviewer cited clearly was.
I like piece from beginning to end. I think it holds together much better than Also Sprach.
I do have to say that my ears get a bit tired from the end of "On the Summit" through the Storm scene. A live hearing would definitely add a little distance to the mix.
He is a "hospice volunteer and meditation instructor." This is not music intended or suitable for those who are in their final days, and I suspect it would not be particularly conducive to meditating. His brain is wired for the Pablum and Numb channel.
He obviously just attended the wrong concert.
Channing Gray
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
When told that so-and-so was a great singer but was sometimes criticized for being vulgar, he replied, "Thank God for vulgarity!" You might want to apply a similar epithet here. I personally love the Alpine Symphony, and I revel in its immensity and--yes--bombast. Nothing like the sound of a huge orchestra going at full-tilt!
Russell
Reviewer biased against the piece, how can review be fair?
Maybe I'm a ramblin' kinda guy, but I feel that Strauss's Alpensinfonie is one of his best works. In concert or on recording, I never hear it without feeling elated. I've also noted over the years that when the local critic doesn't like something, he or she will claim a similar kind of audience apathy (which conveniently mirrors the critic's own opinion - a kind of mini pathetic fallacy!), using assertions and lies (e.g., describing an audience's applause as tepid, when, in reality, it was actually enthusiastic) which all too perfectly fit in with our current climate of "fake news"! My impression is that, in years past, this kind of unsophisticated and lazy dismissal of the Alpensinfonie used to be seen in reviews more frequently, but, these days, this kind of bush-league writing is still encountered every now and then. ;-)
Newspaper ad revenue is down. There's too much competition for 'eyeballs'. Writers and reviewers 'hack' away in any way they can hoping do draw a bit of attention to the ever-shrinking printed page.
Some inmates here ventured out to see Dutiot conduct the Berlioz Requiem last Thursday. $120 a pop in Row 'T' of Orchestra. I loved it!
Local reviewer panned it. OK, so what do I know about music? My wife picks up a $20 'rush'(day of performance) ticket (row 'Z' Orchestra a few rows back but still not under the overhanging Dress Circle) and sees it Friday evening. She raves about it.
I haven't used newspaper reviews as a guide as to what to see or not see for decades. They have a job to do, like just about all current forms of so-called 'Journalism', and that's to entertain.
It appears your reviewer in the Providence Journal at least provided you with a bit of that. :-)
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