Sad news out of Toronto - the Star's John Terauds, the only full-time classical music critic in English Canada, will be moving to the business desk of the Toronto Star. In addition to his fine writing in the paper and online versions of the Star, he also wrote
Sound Mind, one of Canada's top classical music blogs. Over the last few years, John has been giving excellent accounts of the people and organizations involved in Toronto's growing classical music scene. I suppose that the Star will be using freelance journalists to cover classical music from now on, but quality can often be lacking from freelancers with little or no experience in the classical scene.
If he's right, and “the future is freelance,” then I must be living in the future. And believe me, the future is pretty lean, and there’s no dental plan. His abrupt departure from the music beat at the Star once again raises the question of how classical music criticism can continue to sustain itself.
Classical music criticism, indeed music criticism in general, has been steadily becoming more democratic with the advent of blogs and social media. The authority of the reviewer has eroded, certainly not helped by "freelancers of questionable knowledgeability." Still, although I definitely enjoyed Terauds' work, I wonder if the role of an official reviewer is still relevant. The authority to publish judgement has moved to the whole people - the audience - and we should seize this moment.
ReplyDeleteMany voices are better than one. Thanks, Patrick!
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