SPECIALISTS

posted by James Reel

English writer on music Norman Lebrecht can’t be trusted when he makes pronouncements on the state of the classical recording industry (for him, the decline of the major labels means the end of the world, ignoring the fact that small labels are taking up the task with greater competence and elegance than the majors). But he does opine intelligently on other matters, and his little essay on the death of conductor Vernon Handley is well worth reading. Lebrecht bemoans the demise of specialist conductors who could do a few things magnificently; they’ve been replaced by generalists who do everything at a level of basic competence but nothing with special insight. See what Lebrecht has to say here.