This Year's "Ouch, My Logic Bone!" Award Goes to...

Cheryl North of the Contra Costa Times:

Sadly, most contemporary compositions these days just aren't readily likable at first hearing.

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[cricket, cricket]

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[Ugh. I’m too irritated to type anything nice for the moment; so I’ll just let it be]

This one was different.

Uh huh.

The old "here's a straw man to show people how much this piece defies the common wisdom that contemporary music sucks" tactic.

In what way does it not suck, Cheryl?

The way it formed an arc from atmospheric mystery through tension, and then onto a breathless resolution that ultimately evolved into a heavenly sense of peace, reminded me of Samuel Barber's beloved "Adagio for Strings" — and if enough people hear this new Vask [sic] work, I predict it will share a similar popularity.

Fair is fair. Let’s see if my logic bone is broken: Cheryl was previously familiar with the Adagio for Strings. She likes the Adagio. She heard something that reminded her of it. Thus, she liked what she heard.

And while I'm at it, maybe I can rephrase that first sentence:

Sadly, most compositions just aren’t readily the Adagio for Strings.

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What's more, Vasks’ music (here) reminds me of Barber, too (here).
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