An item Thursday (7/12) on the WQXR website states, “As almost anyone with a Facebook account knows, classical music criticism is going from spectator sport to participatory activity. Some people read the comments on articles or news feeds just as avidly as the actual reviews that precede them. Meanwhile, as newspaper arts coverage is cut back in many cities, blogs and Twitter feeds are a growing force in shaping conversations about the art form. But where does this leave classical music? Is the Internet giving us a more democratic form of commentary—or a more shrill, unfiltered one? This issue recently hit home for violinist Lara St. John, who publicly criticized Facebook commenters who were ‘piling on’ by reposting and joking about a scathing New York Times review of a fellow violinist. In this podcast, St. John explains what she found so distressing. Also joining us is Anne Midgette, the classical music critic of the Washington Post, and Pete Matthews, the editor of the blog Feast of Music.” Audio of the full interview segment is available at the link above.
Posted July 13, 2012
