It’s that time of the year again, a time of the year I hate, that being time to write the Fall Arts Preview for the newspaper. I even hate the name of it, because it isn’t a preview of the arts in the fall, but a preview of the whole season — you know, through June of next year — that is published in the fall, or, as in most cases including this upcoming one, late summer.
Anyway, what I hate is predicting the future. I have to pick out the top ten classical events (emphasis on Orange County, but including L.A.) from a variety of classical music organizations’ season schedules. How should I know? Maybe they’ll be interesting, maybe they’ll be good, but maybe not. That’s what I’m a music critic for — to go to the concerts and find out.
OK, I get it. I’m the critic, and people feel I’ll have some sort of insight into what might be great in the coming season. I get it. But looking at my top ten picks from last season, I didn’t do that well. Of my ten picks last fall, one turned out in the event to be great, six turned out OK to halfway decent, two sucked fairly big time, and one was canceled. (See my picks from last year here.)
What’s more, in those top ten picks, I missed a number of concerts that turned out to be among the most memorable of the season. (Such as Lionel Bringuier conducting Shostakovich’s Sixth; Louis Lortie performing Chopin’s Etudes; and Long Beach Opera’s one-woman “Diary of Anne Frank”) They were surprises, sure, but isn’t that why we go to concerts? A top ten list gives the impression that what will be best is predictable. It ain’t.
This season, should I pick the Vienna Philharmonic as one of my top ten? (They weren’t so good the last time I heard them.) Should I choose the Kronos Quartet performing a new work by Steve Reich? (Might be wonderful, but we’ll have to see, won’t we? That’s the point.) Similarly, should I recommend Daniel Catan’s “Il Postino” or Magnus Lindberg’s “Graffiti”? A new production of “Lohengrin” with Ben Heppner? The Pacific Symphony performing Philip Glass or Bruckner?
I might add (I think I will) that the ten concerts in the upcoming season that look most promising or interesting (or whatever) to me, probably aren’t going to be the ten concerts that you’d most enjoy, whoever you are. I’d like to see the Xenakis opera at Cal Arts. You probably want to hear Andrea Bocelli in a sports arena somewhere, if statistics are any indication.
Pick your own damn ten concerts is what I say. Criticism — it’s not a shopping service.
OK, as you were.
classical life 
Uh, no, I actually do NOT want to see Andrea Bocelli
(Though maybe if it was Andre Rieu accompanying Sarah Brightman and Il Divo . . . with fireworks, for course.)
Hey, Tim…I enjoy your comments, even when you are wrong!
(seriously, now)
No matter what you choose as the “top ten,” most of us will disagree with you. Just because you’re the critic, that doesn’t make you right.
Would you like to hear MY Top Ten for the coming year?
No?
Didn’t think you would.
” Of my ten picks last fall, one turned out in the event to be great, six turned out OK to halfway decent, two sucked fairly big time, and one was canceled.”
And which events fell in which categories? This, I ask you.
“What’s more, in those top ten picks, I missed a number of concerts that turned out to be among the most memorable of the season.”
You got me with this one. How do you remember a concert you missed?
I’m not going to say which events fell into which categories. You can always read my reviews. They’re all online.
In answer to your second question … in other words, I was unable to predict which concerts actually turned out to be the ones not to miss. I went to them, reviewed them, but “missed” beforehand, when it was time to put them in my top picks for the upcoming season.
“I’m not going to say which events fell into which categories. You can always read my reviews. They’re all online.”
I think I can live with the ambiguity.
“In answer to your second question … in other words, I was unable to predict which concerts actually turned out to be the ones not to miss”
Ok – that makes sense.
Where’s the Tardis when you really need it?
Last I heard, it was on the roof of a building at MIT. ; )
Dear Tim,
I laughed a lot! Not through a lack of sympathy for your plight, but for the style of writing: great post, heart-on-sleeve honesty and invective. Qualities often rare in writing these days…
Alas, people tend to assume music critics also possess the miraculous power of clairvoyancy: did you tick that box on your job application ? 😉
Luck with the predictions: anything involving Reich, Adams, Mulhy or Turnage would get my vote!
I want to hear the Vienna Phil playing a new work by Steve Reich, or Bocelli singing Xenakis.
Yea, the Vienna Phil. Last time i heard them was with Zubin Mehta and the results were at best so-so. Brass were obviously tired, attacks a little shoddy. Probably not a fair evening to judge as they arrived late due to traffic, but still…..
Did I miss something? Where are the predictions? Which events do you guarantee will change our lives, unless of course they don’t?
No predictions yet. You’ll have my picks sometime next week. I’m still in the mulling over stage of the selection process for the 2010/2011 season.