Integrity Upheld, for a Moment

Whatever you may think about them, for better or worse, superlatives are the norm in music criticism. They attack us with “extreme” excitement and exaggeration, causing our reading glands to release concert-going endorphins. But more often than not, it becomes cliché and tiring. Thus, it is refreshing to finally see an author who intentionally stays away from them.

Ideal, definitive, perfect: These are words one should never use in a music review.

Great opening sentence. I agree totally.

Aside from the obvious, i.e. stating the words that one shouldn’t use, thereby actually using them in a music review, this is a nice idea. And, like I said, it’s certainly welcome. My reading glands would like the day off, every once in a while.

So let “fully realized” describe Jeffry Kahane’s performance...

I guess the author was just kidding.

The orchestra’s collaboration was, well, perfect.

Yep. He was just kidding.