Forbes has just published an article about Claudio Abbado’s recording legacy and what they and others (Michael Haefliger and Alex Ross) consider to be his best.
The late Abbado was one of the world’s most important musical figures of the last decades, not only, of course, due to his musical ability and artistic qualities, but also due to the number of prestigious institutions he was associated with.
What are critics for?
Here is a question of many answers that pops up every once in a while. In a recent interview, Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker and author of the bestseller (and admirable) The Rest is Noise, gives some intake on this most difficult topic.
“Something that I find very common is the assumption that critics are principally there to deliver a judgment on a performance; ranking the performance, rating the performance. And then, of course, the next question is, why is this needed any longer when anyone can go online, and rate an event, and put stars on it and deliver their opinion? And my answer is that this judgment, this ranking, this rating is part of what critics do. It’s an essential segment of any review. I don’t necessarily feel that it’s the most essential part of the process, and for me, actually, it’s the least interesting. What did I, in the end, think about the performance, how did I rank it? Yes, that needs to be in there somewhere every time I write, but ultimately, I don’t think anyone cares what I, myself, this single person, thought of the event.”
The Shadows of Time 