In Opera News, Tim Page on his 1982 reviews, the current state of arts journalism, and much more:
I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but I was utterly unprepared
for my new position, and few things would make me happier now than the
opportunity to delete the majority of my early Times reviews
from archives and distant memories. Although I had collected records
since I was five or six, knew a good deal about contemporary
composition and played the piano acceptably, I had scant knowledge of
huge portions of the repertory and no understanding of the day-to-day
challenges and intricacies of the music world. Even more to the point,
I had not yet begun to develop much human empathy for my fellow
mortals. So I approached my new job with the prim, Robespierrean surety
and the acerbic would-be cleverness that then seemed to me the most
important qualities of a working critic.
The Times was used to steep learning curves — developing a voice with which to speak through New York's most powerful and prestigious newspaper is never an easy adaptation — and my editors were good enough to keep me on.
The Times was used to steep learning curves — developing a voice with which to speak through New York's most powerful and prestigious newspaper is never an easy adaptation — and my editors were good enough to keep me on.