Hi everyone,
Here’s the review I wrote of the Long Beach Symphony’s 79th season opener over the weekend. The link is free:
Review: Long Beach Symphony opens 79th season. Orange County Register, Oct. 6, 2013.
So far, the only reaction I’ve gotten is this:
“Just read your review of Maestro Diemecke´s concert in Long Beach.
You are a typical third class review writer. When someone has absolutely nothing to say, he comes out with absolutely ridiculous and uneducated opinions. The concert was great! And you Mr.Mangan are an idiot.
An advice: Less reviews but with better content and class.
Otherwise, you will ruin your reputation fast enough.”
(name withheld, by me)
See what you think. How do you think I should respond? How would you respond?
Classical Life 
I think you should leave that one right where it lies. Ultimately it’s your opinion against his, and you’ve long since established your bona fides as a reviewer…
Thanks, Robert. My normal procedure in such cases is to reply politely and briefly. I’ve learned that that’s the best way. But I’m very much leaning toward not even bothering to answer this one.
I agree that you should move on to better things. Your review actually seemed balanced — maybe your critic didn’t read the last half or just got hung up on the bull/orchestra comparison (I Googled it :). Definitely one of the more entertaining reviews I’ve read in a while …
I’ve been a fan of yours since you were at the Los Angeles Times, that was a fair review: the conductor looked silly, but the music-making was good. To be blunt, the fact that you didn’t replace Martin Bernheimer at the Los Angeles Times instead of the ludicrous Mark “OMG! Gustavo Dudamel has never conducted a bar of music at any other level than perfection” Swed is a travesty. Um….unless you didn’t want the job, that is!
Thanks, Henry. Oh, I applied for the job, but I was just a boy then. I’ve often thought that it might have been a disaster if I had gotten it. I’m not sure I was ready. But we’ll never know.
I have to admit that I like Gustavo Dudamel, too. Emoticon here.
Oh, I like Mr. Dudamel’s conducting well enough too –the complete “Daphnis et Chloe” from about 3 years ago was one for the ages for example– but Mark Swed *never* finds anything wrong, it’s all one blazing triumph after another. He’s the anti-Donald Rosenberg, who didn’t like anything that Franz Welser-Most did in Cleveland!
At least with you, Mr. Bernheimer, Joshua Kosman and some others, I get a sense of what the concert was really like.