Judith Zaimont replies to me:

>PS to Steve Schwartz: Oscar Thompson [music critic for the New York
>Evening Post and associate editor of Musical America] noted in 1934 "The
>critic is not a super-teacher; not for him to tell the artist how to
>overcome faults".

Pace, Oscar.  Often a teacher does criticize (or at least my teachers did).
A critic sets down an impression/opinion and the reasons for holding it.
For example, my English teacher looked at my essays and told me what he
thought and why he thought it.  Believe it or not, I learned something from
this exercise.  Granted, most music critics don't get down to this level of
detail.  On the other hand, I remember instances of composers revising
their compositions on the basis of critics' suggestions.

Again, this kind of analytical criticism is very seldom practiced in the
U.S. general press.

Steve Schwartz