I was listening to NPR yesterday, and they had a feature which was
basically about how poorly Broadway shows are doing this year.  What
caught my ear was that supposedly not only are there shows that might
close after only one or two nights (understandably), but in some cases
there are shows which don't even make it to opening night.  Apparently
there are pre-performance performances which are reviewed by critics--
critics who are apparently trusted and have the producers' ears-- and
if the critics aren't at least kind then the show doesn't even bother
opening.  What I was wondering is, why doesn't the the CM recording
industry have a model like this?  Or does it?  I get the impression that
there are a fair number of professional or respected critics on this
list.  Are they ever approached _before_ a CD is released, to get their
opinions about an ongoing project?  If not, then is this an impractical
or bad idea, and if so, why?  Come to think of it, even Hollywood movies
are sometimes test-screened before release.  So why couldn't a concept
like this be applied to the classical music recording industry?  Wouldn't
it lower the risk for the labels that finance the recordings, as well
as making performing orchestras and conductors more flexible towards
accomodating the tastes of potential listeners?  Or as I said before,
does a setup like this already exist?

hector aguilar