[I couldn't resist the temptation for the subject line, but in fact I understand - and somewhat agree with - the article. To maintain "fresh ears" requires effort.] From Terry Teachout's Saturday Wall Street Journal "Sightings" column: Is it possible for a critic to know too much? Not a chance. The unhappy truth is that it's far more common for us not to know nearly enough about the art forms we review. (If you doubt it, ask any artist.) But I've also discovered that the accumulation of knowledge can inhibit our ability to appreciate an artistic experience. I know middle-aged opera buffs who never seem to enjoy the performances they attend. Whenever they go to "La Traviata," they always end up spending the whole intermission grousing about how the soprano wasn't as good as some half-forgotten diva they heard in Milan 37 years ago. They've lost the knack of enjoying the performances they're seeing-not to mention the piercing beauty of the music they're hearing.. The more you learn about an art form, the harder it becomes to enjoy it in a straightforward, uncomplicated way. The literary critic R.P. Blackmur had this phenomenon in mind when he observed that "knowledge itself is a fall from the paradise of undifferentiated sensation." Go to "Swan Lake" for the first time and you'll be blown away by the flood of gorgeous new sights and sounds that spills over you. Go 20 times and you're more likely to notice that the orchestra played out of tune and the ballerina did 31 fouettes instead of 32. That's not snobbishness. It's connoisseurship, and it's a good thing-unless it gets between you and the immediate experience of art. Gratuitous pickiness is a soul-killing trap against which the critic must always be on guard.. Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask] *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html