‘The thing about critics,’ said Philip Glass. ‘Eventually, they die…’
mainAny composer or writer who has even received a bad review, or a string of them from the same critic, will find wisdom and encouragement in this lovely reminiscence by Derek Bermel. Read here.
Now listen here: I love this piece.
Young composers, remember the words of Jean Sibelius: ‘No one ever built a statue of a critic’…..
Of course, poor old Sibelius obviously never saw the statues of Saint-Beuve, Berlioz, Bernard Shaw, Schumann, Roger Ebert, Clement Greenberg, Vladimir Stasov etc, but then, we’ve all said silly things after a few drinks.
He was quoting Socrates who said “No one ever raised a monument for a critic.” Of course, back then they didn’t have a need for hero-worshiping as so many do today!