On 16/12/2012 20:16, Mark S wrote:
> If somebody dislikes a particular singer, it's enough for them to give
> their reasons for disliking them, is it not? Why would you expect a
> person to get into somebody else's head and figure out why someone
> else likes a particular singer?
I think, unusually, that you contradict yourself, Mark. You have no
objection to hearing reasons for *not* liking a particular singer, but
every objection to suggestions from thoughtful observers as to why other
people *do* like them? It makes no sense, unless you have a terminally
closed mind, which I am sure you don't.
Good writing, and good criticism, is precisely about "getting into
someone else's head". Negativity in my head (or even yours) is
profoundly uninteresting to anyone else, especially where we lob such
crude grenades as your bald dismissals of Schwarzkopf's singing. They
communicate nothing beyond your own prejudices, I fear. I at least have
learned, in the main, to shut up about things I don't like - and
therefore clearly don't understand.
You certainly show no talent for "getting into my head"! If you had
managed that, you'd see (as I've said) that I am no particular fan of
hers, nor of many singers indeed. I am repertoire not personality
driven, and would rather hear Rimsky's "Servilia" than two hundred more
performances of "Tosca" (or even one, frankly!) - just as I'd rather
hear Franz Schmidt's 4th Symphony these days in preference to Beethoven's.
No. The question which interests me (though evidently not everyone, I
see) is "what makes so many people *like* or *love* her performances of
4LS on disc so much?" Thinking about that might help us see her work in
a stronger, more rewarding light. As it is, negativity illuminates
nothing. Not even the clubbable Mr Potter's: we could all cite three
critics who love Schwarzkopf to one who doesn't, so your appeal to "not
ordinary" authorities cuts two ways.
As you ask me, I will tell you frankly that I think Mr Potter wrote that
to demonstrate his own fastidious taste and distance from the common
herd, and not because he meant something serious by it - or anything at
all. "Ghastly crooning" is a very telling phrase, a typical piece of
lazy reviewer's cheap polemic aligning the singer with other popular
artists such as Dean Martin and Bing Crosby. Crooners, you see. Not
proper singers, of course. Not artists at all. Far too popular. And he
doesn't even name her - "a much-touted rival" = 'you know who I mean, I
know who I mean, and aren't we clever?' A low trick of smug cowardice.
Such cheap shots, I'm sure you agree, are not worth the paper it was
written on. They're below Mr Potter's usual comfortable standards.