I also believe that Norman Lebrecht engages in rabble rousing and shock
to gain attention. However, it has been my experience that although he
can be irritating, he's no fool. If he says something in print, it is
probably true. THE MAESTRO MYTH came out while I was researching my
master's thesis and the people in a position to know (e.g. conductors'
agents) were astonished at his resources, but admitted that what he said
was true. However, when I interviewed him for my thesis he made several
broad, off-hand, negative statements about my subject which I was unable
to support from other sources -- and therefore did not use.
Madeline Jenkins Millard
[log in to unmask]