December 13, 2019 – davidbruceblog #2

Critics

• Carl Sandburg reviewed books and lectures early in his career and movies late in his career. Occasionally, he gave anonymous reviews — sometimes of his own work! Walt Whitman also did this; when his Leaves of Grassappeared, he gave it a rave, unsigned review. Mr. Sandburg gave his own lectures and poetry excellent reviews. In October 1907, the editor of a labor newspaper brought Mr. Sandburg to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to give a lecture. The editor also allowed Mr. Sandburg to review — anonymously — his own lecture on the front page of the newspaper. Mr. Sandburg wrote, “Sandburg proved himself a man of deep thinking ability and great oratorical ability.” Mr. Sandburg quoted such reviews in advertisements for his lectures. He also would write blurbs for his own work and use a friend’s name as attribution for the blurbs. Mr. Sandburg once said, “I am a ready liar for a good cause.” Of course, Mr. Sandburg’s lectures and poetry were often excellent.

• In an article for The Guardianpublished in March 2011, critic and writer Germaine Greer explained a few things about art. This is one point she made: “A kid doing graffiti will make no money and could go to jail. There is no truer example of the sacredness of the art enterprise.” Another point she made is this: “Most art is bad, but you don’t get the good art without the bad. Our best artists make stuff they know is bad; the difference is that they destroy it themselves.” As an example, she uses the artist Tracey Emin, who earned an MA at the Royal College of Art. She is a successful artist, and lots of art dealers would love to have the art that she created to get her MA, but they never will. The art did not meet Ms. Emin’s high standards, and she destroyed it. According to Ms. Greer, “That’s the kind of thing real artists can be expected to do.”

• Auditions do not always go well. At the very beginning of her career, modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan auditioned for a traveling theatrical company by dancing passionately to Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words. The manager of the company remained silent for a few moments after the audition, then said to Isadora’s mother, “This sort of thing is no good for a theater. It’s more for a church. I advise you to take your little girl home.” By the way, Ms. Duncan danced from a very young age. When asked when she had started dancing, she always replied, “In my mother’s womb.”

• In the 17^thcentury, Irishman Michael Kelly composed theater music and sold wine. His wine shop had this sign: “Wine merchant and composer of music.” Richard Brinsley Sheridan preferred Mr. Kelly’s taste in wine to his taste in music and advised him to change his sign to this: “Merchant of music and composer of wines.” By the way, Dr. Samuel Johnson did not especially like music. He once listened to a virtuoso violinist play a pyrotechnical piece. Hearing a companion remark that the violin piece must have been very difficult to perform, Dr. Johnson remarked, “Difficult! I wish to God that it had been impossible!”

• Pianist Vladimir de Pachmann once dined with fellow musicians Leopold Godowsky (an especially good friend), Hans Richter, and Fritz Kreisler. In the course of the evening, Mr. de Pachmann said, “I am happy to be here with my four friends. There are four great musicians in the world. There is me. There is Godowsky. And then there is Bach and Chopin.” By the way, critic Philip Hale detested the music of Johannes Brahms. He once proposed that exits in the Boston Symphony Hall be marked, “This Way Out In Case Of Brahms.”

• Carl Gaertner, an artist, once attended a recital in which Remenyi, a famous Hungarian violinist, played Bach. Mr. Gaertner hissed during the performance, so Mr. Remenyi asked his critic to identify himself. Mr. Gaertner rose and said, “You play Bach like a fool.” Mr. Remenyi remained calm, and merely said, “Perhaps so, but will my critic show me how notto play Bach like a fool?” Mr. Gaertner did not rise to the challenge, but simply left — to the laughs of the other members of the audience.

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