Critics bellow over orchestra reviewer losing beat

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN,Associated Press Writer AP - Saturday, November 1

CLEVELAND - The reassignment of a newspaper reviewer critical of Cleveland Orchestra conductor Franz Welzer-Moest left a dissonant trail of questions about censorship and the risk of panning a hometown arts icon.

The move of Donald Rosenberg off The Plain Dealer's orchestra beat doesn't trump talk about the Browns football team or basketball superstar LeBron James at the watercooler in Cleveland, but reviewers across the country noticed and yelled, "Foul!"

Rosenberg was summoned into a conference room at Ohio's biggest newspaper in September and was told by Editor Susan Goldberg that he was off the beat that he had for 16 years.

Rosenberg, who has written a book about the orchestra and covered 15 of its foreign tours, was reassigned to other arts and entertainment coverage.

Britain's Guardian newspaper said the move amounted to censorship, and The New York Times said the reassignment "is sure to send shivers down the opinionated spines of critics everywhere."

The Music Critics Association of North America appealed to Goldberg last week to reinstate Rosenberg.

"The silencing of a critic not only challenges the foundation of our particular profession, but weakens the foundation of journalism itself," according to the association, which represents about 110 critics. About half, representing newspapers and music publications coast to coast, signed the letter.

The association's president, Tim Smith of The (Baltimore) Sun, said Thursday there had been no response from Goldberg.

Rosenberg regularly praised the orchestra but sometimes questioned Welser-Moest's work, comparing him to a traffic cop who failed to delve into the music's essence. Welser-Moest has been music director of the orchestra since 2002.

Welser-Moest "was conveying very little of the flavor of the music and essentially just duplicating the notes in the score without much character or color or real personality," Rosenberg said in an interview with The Associated Press.

In a review on the orchestra's trip last year to Vienna, Rosenberg said Welser-Moest "lapsed into uninflected routine in the second and third movements" of Mahler's Symphony No. 2. Two days later The Financial Times of London similarly called the movements "uneventful" and said the conductor "can seem aloof."

Goldberg didn't address the reason for Rosenberg's reassignment in comments reported by The Plain Dealer. The orchestra beat went to another writer at the newspaper, Zachary Lewis.

She told the newspaper's reader representative, Ted Diadiun, that the paper never allows complaints against a writer to dictate personnel decisions.

"Our work is regularly, and sometimes harshly, scrutinized by the people and institutions we cover," she told Diadiun. "That's just part of the process of what we do and I work hard to make myself available to people who have issues with our stories. Criticism of our work can provide valuable feedback that helps us do a better, and fairer, job."

Goldberg declined an interview request from the AP. "I've said all I am going to say about this situation, which we consider an internal personnel matter," she said in an e-mail.

Rosenberg, 56, thinks orchestra bigwigs got to Goldberg, who left the San Jose Mercury News for The Plain Dealer in May 2007.

"I told her I thought she was caving in to outside sources including orchestra management and board officials and she would not address it," said Rosenberg, who joined The Plain Dealer in 1992.

Rosenberg said a reviewer needs to have a free hand to responsibly report on the arts, whether negative or positive, and must hold a performing arts company to a high standard when dealing with a world-class organization such as the Cleveland Orchestra.

"There's no way that standards can be upheld if you're acting as a cheerleader all the time _ it doesn't work in politics, it doesn't work in sports and it certainly doesn't work in the arts," he said.

The paper, owned by Advance Publications Inc., has a daily circulation of about 345,000.

The Plain Dealer's publisher, Terrance C.Z. Egger, serves on the orchestra board, as does his predecessor, but Egger said he was unaware of any orchestra pressure to reassign Rosenberg.

"At no time do I recall ever being asked by a member of the orchestra or the board to have Mr.. Rosenberg be reassigned, it just never happened," he told The AP in an e-mail. "Secondly, I never approached Susan on this matter or any subject related to the orchestra. She came to inform me after her decision had been made just to be sure I was aware. And finally, Susan did not even know that I was on the board until I informed her after she had announced her decision."

Welser-Moest and the orchestra executive director, Gary Hanson, were traveling out of the country and won't comment on the matter, according to spokeswoman Ana Papakhian

She referred questions to a statement posted earlier by Hanson on blogs that took up Rosenberg's case.

Hanson said it was false to suggest the orchestra had lobbied for the reassignment. He said he has complimented and complained to the paper about its coverage over the years but said the orchestra understood a paper's right to publish a critic's comments, whether supportive or not.

The reassignment came amid a period of uncertainty at The Plain Dealer, which announced Oct. 7 that it plans to cut 16 percent of its unionized newsroom jobs by the end of the year, further trimming a staff reduced by buyouts. Egger blamed the cuts on worse than expected advertising revenue and a struggling newspaper industry.

The music critics group said the number of critic jobs has dwindled with declining newspaper staffs and Rosenberg's reassignment could make critics worry about the reaction to unwelcome reviews.

Ross W. Duffin, a Case Western Reserve University music professor who says both Rosenberg and Hanson are his friends, said the issue became more important recently when the orchestra gave Welser-Moest a 10-year contract, meaning the conductor could be looking at another decade of unfavorable reviews if Rosenberg kept his job.
On the Net:

http://www.clevelandorch.com

Strange dream

Dreamt of a golden retriever yesterday - I called out to him "Machi" and he came to me... (?) in a lift....

June 2008 Break (UK and Germany)

This break has been made possible by the sheer amount of work in 2006-07 and the kindness of many people. Suffice to say that this break, was literally an attempt at a separation of the chapters before, and the starting of another. Anyway... let me just quickly jump into the highlights of my trip: Day 1 was pretty much spent on the air (12hr)+ Tube (45 mins) + Train (3.5 hrs). I arrived in Durham at 11.30am and met my friend Adriel at THE Harrison and Harrison I cant say that I was able to take in everything my friend brought me through about making of the pipe organs in the workshop. Just glad to actually see a pipe organ and a clavichord (a side project of my friend) in the making! Durham is a beautiful cathedral/university town. It was such a joy to see the Cathedral again, standing magnificently on a hill and the lovely streams around it. Had the pleasure of also experiencing the cathedral's children choir (apparently the one which sings in Harry Potter) performing on the Cathedral tower (...), a Gamelan performance from a group in Southbank (!!!) and also recorder consort practice. The trip up to Newcastle to visit the Baltic Museum and Lange Gallery was equally an eye-opening experience. All in all, it was an extremely marvellous musico-cultural induction to the beginning of a holiday.


The next train stop was Edinburgh. Upon reaching, I was suddenly hit by waves of fatigue of travel (yeah I am abit slow) and just couldnt walk very much...which was a pity because this ancient city has such a picturesque view at every corner. This one for instance was taken while I was collapsing on a bench beside the National Art Gallery. I slept as early as 8.30pm that day (had wanted to go for the ghost walk but alas! the body is weak!) and woke up early the next day to start my adventure to the Isle of Skye. The coach trip there was long but the driver was extremely generous with the tales of Scotland. We were all sufficiently entertained by the tales of the hairy cool (cow), famous Scots (including Tony Blair) and why phrases like "daylight robbery" came from Scotland. I later came upon the information that Scotland is one of the earliest country that had instituted compulsory education for their children. Perhaps that could explain why they had in fact had an extraordinary no of noble prize winners, literary giants and educators for their population size? So after many glens and valleys (and tales of the clans), I finally landed in this nice little inn in Portree with excellent views:

[Stayed in the second house from the right "Cuilin View"] The rest of the journey in the Skye is like just living in air - literally...



My journey to Germany's Rhineland began rather unauspiciously with two false landings in the wrong train station. I have learnt since there is a difference between Frankfurt Mainz and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) which recurred again in Bingen. The reason I have learnt later, is that one probably refers to the "Main Street" while the other indeed refers to the "Main station". Anyhow I was glad to see my friend Siong Yee at the Bingen main station after what was a 2 hours delay caused by my boo boo. It was a real pity that I didnt get to see the famous Hildegard Von Bingen's museum though thanks to the advanced planning of my friend, the dinner at the hill top Klopp castle was amazing. From this point, I felt like I was transported to the fairytale land of the Match Stick Girl, the Swan Prince and Hansel and Gretel... the great river Rhine meandered around the most quaint townlet with the great castles looming at various strategic vantage points. I was glad for my friend's readiness to walk the talk - there is no better way of experiencing this cultural and natural sites before us. When awarding the world-heritage status to this upper section of the Middle Rhine, UNESCO paid tribute to the area's unusually rick cultural history and art. As the most prominent stretch of the river, it was chosen to represent the whole of the Rhine - and I have experienced all of this in the 2 days! I am so thankful!







A special tribute my friend's attempt at capturing a unique perspective of the Rhine from the Rheinstein Castle (somewhere between Bacharach and Bingen):



The trip back to Bonn was uneventful and I was glad for the chance to visit Beethoven's house and to experience the provinciality of a small town. It's a reminder that despite of who I am and where I am from, I am probably not well-suited to city life. I probably would be happier becoming a farmer if there could ever be such a job in Singapore. Perhaps also it has to do with whether I am living in the right time for who I could be.

Suffice to say London is the same as what I had known it to be like (only somewhat cleaner)... I stayed in this budget hotel outside Wembley Stadium. The last three days or so went by rather quickly with my visit to Cambridge, IoE and catching up with some shopping and dinner with an ex-student studying in Imperial College. Unlike the other cities I have been to, London always held a special place in my heart - probably because this is the first foreign city I have been on my own for a substantial time. This is a place where it is exceedingly cosmopolitan but sufficiently friendly; always eventful but not to the point of confusing and hurried; expensive ... but one can always live with a slightly lower expectation of quality of living. On this note, I do look forward to returning again rather soon.

New Phase of Life

Hello all

I have left MOE HQ and am now in NIE. I vow to restart this engine blog again somehow... so stay tune!

A New Song for a New Week

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus
And when I am alone, give me Jesus
And when I am afraid, give me Jesus
You can have all this world, but give me Jesus


http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKy_NxB398