Description
For this assignment you will choose, and carefully read, two published classical music concert reviews from any of the sources listed below. One review should be related to a vocal performance and the other review should be related to an instrumental performance. The objective of this assignment is for you to learn how music reviewers who attend classical music concerts discuss the music and performances they experience in live performance settings. As you write your papers be sure to give the title and source of the reviews, the name of the reviewers, and the type of musical performances being reviewed. Include any other pertinent information such as the date, location (performance venue), name of the group or individuals performing, and works and composers on the program. Do not do a comparison of the two reviews! As you read each review take note of and discuss the different types of information given by the reviewers. Report on each reviewer’s writing style focusing on their use of vocabulary (academic or conversational), organization, tone (e.g. critical, informative, etc.), and potential target audience. Assess the overall effectiveness of the passage in conveying the information related to the works on the program, the performers, the performance space, and the performance itself. Be prepared to share some of your observations about the reviews in our class discussion and feel free to use short quotes from select passages of the reviews or your paper in your discussions.
Sources for Concert Reviews
Most major newspapers or magazines with a music component have an online presence, sometimes free to all, and sometimes limited to subscribers. The Washington Post, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, and L.A. Times are all good examples from outside the D.C. metropolitan area.
Washington, D.C.:
Anne Midgette, The Classical Beat: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/classical-beat
Charles Downey (moderator), Ionarts: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/
Andrew Lindemann Malone, DMV Classical: http://dmvclassical.wordpress.com
New York:
Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise: www.therestisnoise.com
The Village Voice, Music: http://www.villagevoice.com/music/ (New York)
Feast of Music: http://feastofmusic.com (New York)
Joe Horowitz, The Unanswered Questions: http://artsjournal.com/uq/ (New York)
Chicago:
Chicago Classical Review: http://chicagoclassicalreview.com
Mark Geelhoed, Deceptively Simple: http://deceptively-simple.com (Chicago)
Andrew Patner, Tonic Blotter: http://tonicblotter.blogspot.com (Chicago)
California:
The Standing Room: http://thestandingroom.typepad.com (San Francisco)
Axel Feldheim, Not For Fun Only: http://nffo.blogspot.com (San Francisco)
Out West Arts: http://outwestarts.blogspot.com (Los Angeles and San Francisco)
