David Hurwitz

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Nice comment. Part of Hurwitz's schtick is that he has working familiarity with virtually every recording ever made. He goes through dozens of boxed sets and comments authoritatively on each disk--but there just aren't enough hours to have clear, much less fresh, impressions of so much music. Yet I've never seen him say "I don't remember this one," or "I haven't heard this."

I first encountered Hurwitz in (believe it or not) the letters section of Fanfare magazine, back in the 80s. At the time, he was a college student at (I think) Johns Hopkins, and would write in and give his opinions on recordings. I remember his list of Mahler recommendations, because in this letter he disclosed that he already owned something like 3000 LPs, which I thought was pretty impressive and obsessive for someone who was a mere undergraduate at the time. (I may be misremembering the number. But it was a lot.)

[Herman]

To the bolded - for me this is the key reason I find his videos frustrating.  Apart from anything else I find as I get older, I find it all but impossible to speak with the sweeping certainties of the average adolescent.  Yet this is precisely what Hurwitz manages to do - see his series of "Greatest ever...", "Best and worst....." and several others.  Now of course I understand that this absolutism is very appealing to a base that crave such unwavering conviction.

This entails the idea that it's a sign of weakness to change one's opinion. So... many DH videos consist of him reciting what's in a megabox booklet. Dozens of CDs he hasn't heard in decades, but he pretends to know exactly what they're like.

The other thing is the nr of views shows that hate reviews are popular. People like negativity. So you get more negative reviews

Thirdly DH appears to live in a time warp where HIP orchestras and fortepianos have just been introduced. Even though HIP started in the Sixties and was fully arrived in the Eighties, DH acts as if it's new fad that should be discouraged fiercely.

[Karl Henning]

I skip any of his videos on anything political because I find his takes as shallow as they are opinionated.

Not to belabor the point, but that's how I've found his musical dicta (sh. and op.)

[Daverz]

Not to belabor the point, but that's how I've found his musical dicta (sh. and op.)

Yes, but the stakes are much lower there.  I'm usually just watching for listening ideas.

[Brian]

many DH videos consist of him reciting what's in a megabox booklet. Dozens of CDs he hasn't heard in decades, but he pretends to know exactly what they're like.

Sometimes he indicates he has re-listened his way through a set, which he'd better, since he has basically abandoned the actual written website ClassicsToday. It's not uncommon for him to say something like "I liked this better than I remembered." (He is also getting more positive with age.)

The other thing is the nr of views shows that hate reviews are popular. People like negativity. So you get more negative reviews

As a working professional critic, this is very much a fact. I write about all these things I love dearly, and hope to inspire that love in others, and all that people read is the one negative review. I only do about one negative piece out of every 20 but that's what people remember, rather than the glowing "you need this"...

[Herman]

As a working professional critic, this is very much a fact. I write about all these things I love dearly, and hope to inspire that love in others, and all that people read is the one negative review. I only do about one negative piece out of every 20 but that's what people remember, rather than the glowing "you need this"...

I used to be a book critic for magazines. These were longish pieces (though inevitably they shrunk as the 21st century grew...) and the editor preferred positive enthusiastic pieces. Why would people read a 1800 word pan?
Also, people really remembered the pieces in which I was excited about a book or writer. Personally I later regretted some of my pans. (With the exception of Philip Roth's later short novels, man, I hated those...)

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Why would people read a 1800 word pan?

People enjoy pans for a number of reasons. But I think it's most common when they think a certain artist or work has been unjustifiably inflated by the hype machine.

Here, for instance, is a skewering of a currently popular litfic writer who is experiencing some backlash. I don't know if this is a fair take (since I haven't read the book in question). But it's one of the meanest fiction reviews I've ever read, and might be enjoyable to some:

https://openlettersreview.com/posts/beautiful-world-where-are-you-by-sally-rooney?rq=rooney

[André]

Sometimes he indicates he has re-listened his way through a set, which he'd better, since he has basically abandoned the actual written website ClassicsToday. It's not uncommon for him to say something like "I liked this better than I remembered." (He is also getting more positive with age.)

As a working professional critic, this is very much a fact. I write about all these things I love dearly, and hope to inspire that love in others, and all that people read is the one negative review. I only do about one negative piece out of every 20 but that's what people remember, rather than the glowing "you need this"...

Often the reaction to such negative reviews is to thank the reviewer, as if he/she saved  someone from being hit by a speeding car when crossing the street 'Oh, thanks so much, I wasn't sure about this one but now I certainly won't buy it'.

Same on Goodreads. There's always some one thanking profusely for a 'avoid this book like the plague' review.

[AnotherSpin]

Often the reaction to such negative reviews is to thank the reviewer, as if he/she saved  someone from being hit by a speeding car when crossing the street 'Oh, thanks so much, I wasn't sure about this one but now I certainly won't buy it'.

Same on Goodreads. There's always some one thanking profusely for a 'avoid this book like the plague' review.

In the world of consumerism, people are consumed by the desire to own one thing or another. They are conditioned to think this way. Owning every object of desire is difficult—often impossible. Then someone or something appears that supposedly "helps them make their choice." The quotes are deliberate, as no real choice is being made. Everything remains just as conditioned as before. Yet people firmly believe a choice has been made and, in this case, thank Hurwitz, who supposedly helped them avoid making a mistake. A rather comical situation.

[Herman]

Classical music is an aspirational pursuit. You get to be a more sophisticated person. The ultimate goal is, perhaps, becoming a connoisseur. Buying the wrong set of Beethoven or Martinu symphonies puts one back in the Stone Age of connoisseurship, so that's why these people thank DH profusily for preventing them from making the wrong choice.

[André]

Classical music is an aspirational pursuit. You get to be a more sophisticated person. The ultimate goal is, perhaps, becoming a connoisseur. Buying the wrong set of Beethoven or Martinu symphonies puts one back in the Stone Age of connoisseurship, so that's why these people thank DH profusily for preventing them from making the wrong choice.

The faux pas ! So true !! 😆

Makes me think of Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade) when the villain makes the wrong choice for the Graal cup. Argghhh !

[Number Six]

I tend to use Hurwitz's videos to be entertained and to get some ideas.

Truth is, I am probably just too ignorant (inexperienced?) to know the difference between different conductors. Okay, I can appreciate the difference between a Celibidache symphony and almost anyone else. Or a Norrington LvB vs Karajan. And sometimes, I might find a preference between approaches. (I think about Klemperer's Messiah, which I loved. Then I heard Hogwood's, and the Klemp just felt weird. Now I am more likely to reach for something in the Hogwood vein, like a William Christie or John Butt.)

But all that said, I don't find a lot of difference. So I don't get stressed when Hurwitz recommends avoiding someone. I usually end up liking what he said not to play. And he knows it, too - one of his recent worst-of-the-year videos included a joke about, "I know you're all going to run out and stream these albums."

[Number Six]

The faux pas ! So true !! 😆

Makes me think of Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade) when the villain makes the wrong choice for the Graal cup. Argghhh !

Right? We're meant to be terrified of buying the wrong Mahler cycle set. . .

[Karl Henning]

Right? We're meant to be terrified of buying the wrong Mahler cycle set. . .

The horror! The horror!

[Kalevala]

For some people, it's more of a serious investment and maybe (at least at that time in their lives), they can't *afford to buy a number of sets [Thankfully these days one can at least sample various sets via youtube or elsewhere].

*or a case of room, etc.?

K

[André]

I tend to use Hurwitz's videos to be entertained and to get some ideas.

Truth is, I am probably just too ignorant (inexperienced?) to know the difference between different conductors. Okay, I can appreciate the difference between a Celibidache symphony and almost anyone else. Or a Norrington LvB vs Karajan. And sometimes, I might find a preference between approaches. (I think about Klemperer's Messiah, which I loved. Then I heard Hogwood's, and the Klemp just felt weird. Now I am more likely to reach for something in the Hogwood vein, like a William Christie or John Butt.)

But all that said, I don't find a lot of difference. So I don't get stressed when Hurwitz recommends avoiding someone. I usually end up liking what he said not to play. And he knows it, too - one of his recent worst-of-the-year videos included a joke about, "I know you're all going to run out and stream these albums."

Trust your instinct. Therein lies what you'll fall for.

Our response to music echoes our tastes, experiences, feelings. The Ancients identified 9 Muses. We don't have or need to cling to one only. Arts and Science were just a manifestation of inclination, talent, genius. In reverse, inclination, talent, genius beget one's orientation toward Arts or Science and from there, Music, Literature, Sculpture, Painting, Architecture, Mathemathics, Physics etc (science subjects have exploded in the last 100 years).

In his wisdom Hurwitz perfectly understands that the thirst for knowledge will accept no bounds. Those with no specific tastes or previous experience will be swayed by his reviews. And that's okay. Whoever we are have formed our tastes from some outside influence. After all, that's how many pundits sell their own tastes/opinions 'He/She is the pupil of XX, who was the pupil of WW, who was the pupil of Liszt', etc.

[Kalevala]

The faux pas ! So true !! 😆

Makes me think of Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade) when the villain makes the wrong choice for the Graal cup. Argghhh !

I think that the mentality of how the villain thought vs. Jones was quite clever script-wise.

K

[Kalevala]

Trust your instinct. Therein lies what you'll fall for.

Our response to music echoes our tastes, experiences, feelings. The Ancients identified 9 Muses. We don't have or need to cling to one only. Arts and Science were just a manifestation of inclination, talent, genius. In reverse, inclination, talent, genius beget one's orientation toward Arts or Science and from there, Music, Literature, Sculpture, Painting, Architecture, Mathemathics, Physics etc (science subjects have exploded in the last 100 years).

In his wisdom Hurwitz perfectly understands that the thirst for knowledge will accept no bounds. Those with no specific tastes or previous experience will be swayed by his reviews. And that's okay. Whoever we are have formed our tastes from some outside influence. After all, that's how many pundits sell their own tastes/opinions 'He/She is the pupil of XX, who was the pupil of WW, who was the pupil of Liszt', etc.

So, what happens if we have the radio on, don't know who is playing (and possibly also what/whose music they are playing) and then we decide to check out the playlist (radio's)?  And, yes to be fair, I have listened to friends' suggestions (mostly with good results) of who they like.  And my parents also had some records around when I was growing up and I was fond of those ones.

K

[Number Six]

We can only sample what we know. In this field, that usually means what's been recommended - often by teachers or friends or family. Or by professional critics like our Dave here.

Hurwitz has some great videos that introduce a particular composer or genre, giving recommendations on where to start. IIRC he often doesn't even give recommended recordings in those particular videos. But say, for instance, that I know I like Handel's Messiah. And I know he has other oratorios (and operas, for that matter, which I might not have known even existed before now). Which ones do I try first? I could just guess. I have often done that, and it works out fine. But if there's a video about "Handel's Oratorios for Beginners" suggesting me 5 or 6 to start with, then I am thrilled.

Saving money is not the issue it once was, if you subscribe to a streaming service, as I do. But it's still nice to know that Israel in Egypt might be a good next place to go. (It's not only Hurwitz, of course - I have a number of books that do the same thing.)

[Kalevala]

We can only sample what we know. In this field, that usually means what's been recommended - often by teachers or friends or family. Or by professional critics like our Dave here.

Hurwitz has some great videos that introduce a particular composer or genre, giving recommendations on where to start. IIRC he often doesn't even give recommended recordings in those particular videos. But say, for instance, that I know I like Handel's Messiah. And I know he has other oratorios (and operas, for that matter, which I might not have known even existed before now). Which ones do I try first? I could just guess. I have often done that, and it works out fine. But if there's a video about "Handel's Oratorios for Beginners" suggesting me 5 or 6 to start with, then I am thrilled.

Saving money is not the issue it once was, if you subscribe to a streaming service, as I do. But it's still nice to know that Israel in Egypt might be a good next place to go. (It's not only Hurwitz, of course - I have a number of books that do the same thing.)

That's good to hear.  And (pour moi) I have checked out various books (and bought them) like Gramophone's and Penguin' guides. And I've only heard one Israel in Egypt [which I would be happy to recommend].

K