"Less Than Helpful" and Other Critiques
“If the critics already knew what I was telling the audience, it bored them. If they didn’t, it infuriated them. I couldn’t win. And they let me know it.” - Henri Temianka
If Temianka was in good company, what was it about his work that made people hate his commentaries?[Temianka's unique take on lecturing in front of his audiences, providing anecdotes, etc. proved contentious with critics, especially from the LA Times]
[Common complaints from critics]
[Why did these complains pop up so often if others were lecturing at the same time? Because his lectures often touched on a human side that was uncommon or considered "irrelevant"]
[Many times, the two parties would exchange heated messages about specific articles or performances alongside grander topics like the purpose of music and criticism]
"When you put a title like ("Let's Talk Music") on a series of concerts, it takes them out of the purely musical category, and I don't think critics should be expected to sit through talking or lecturing by anyone at a concert." - Albert Goldberg
[Temianka's responses to criticism in the form of articles and poems, note MA stuff][Other criticisms weren't from newspapers, but instead from within his own circles/those adjacent to him - i.e. MA editorial notes]
[How many of the criticisms went against Temianka's goal of democratizing music]