Jim Tobin wrote:

>What you say now suggests more that individual judgement "recognizes"
>greatness in a work and that greatness is an objective fact about the
>work.  Is that a fair interpretation?

Partially.  First, I have a problem with "recognizes".  That word gives
me the image of the individual "receiving" the greatness criteria from an
outside source.  The individual creates the criteria for greatness and
identifies those composers, works, and artists who meet or exceed the
criteria.

Second, I consider greatness to be a primarily subjective process.  A
particular individual might feel his/her conclusions are totally objective
- doesn't bother me any.

I'm still perplexed by the postings which attribute much validity to
the conclusions of the "group", however that is defined.  In subjective
matters, I think the group to be irrelevant.  Let's say that one hundred
knowledgeable classical music fans attend a concert and that I'm the only
one who did not find the performance one of greatness.

Sure, I could wonder about that and probably would; perhaps I was being
too critical, in a bad mood, possessed some bias that skewed my judgement.
Assuming factors like these are not applicable, my conclusions are all that
count, because I trust my own judgement more than the judgement of everyone
else in combination.

Don Satz
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