- If it was the musicians who wrote the reviews in the newspaper, they would be far more critical than the newspaper critics. Musicians are hard on themselves and their colleagues, much more than we are.
- Our challenge as reviewers is that the standard at concerts is very high. You hardly ever see concerts that only get one or two stars.
The words come from one of the country's 19 classical music critics, Politiken's Thomas Michelsen.
His background for the job is a Master's degree in Musicology and History of Philosophy from the University of Copenhagen.
-"I've been playing classical music since I was 10-11 years old. I'm only an amateur on the flute, but I still think it means something in terms of being a reviewer to have tried standing on a stage in front of an audience.
Next year he will have 25 years of experience as a press critic. The first years at Information and since 2000 at Politiken. In the beginning, he prepared for most concerts, read scores and perhaps listened to recordings of the works he was reviewing. Today, a conductor or soloist's previous recordings of a work is knowledge acquired through the many, many reviews, but Thomas Michelsen may well seek out the score for premieres of works he has never heard before.
-"If we take a conductor like Herbert Blomstedt, I already know the recordings he has made of the work on the programme in the concert hall.
-Can you avoid having a preconceived opinion about a famous conductor - positive or negative?
- It's a difficult question. We do our best to wipe the slate clean, so to speak, to open the mind prior to a review. Many years ago, I experienced an extreme case where a well-known and appreciated singer gave a concert in Trinitatis Church and stopped several times. The review was then cancelled and only later was it explained that he was ill. Of course, the concert should never have been organised and the review should never have been written, but as I said, this is a very isolated example.
Readers of classical music reviews are mainly found in the printed newspaper. The online version of the newspaper doesn't get the same attention, but if you can go directly to the review from the front page of the electronic newspaper, it looks a little better with the electronic newspapers.
- I want my reviews to stimulate debate, and the web is good for that, but there's the problem that you have to buy your way behind Politiken's paywall to participate, and it turns out that many posts aren't about the review at all, but about everything else, for example what the writer thinks of the newspaper in general.
Social media has also taken over part of the debate, with young people in particular utilising the new media in their own way. This type of communication doesn't mix well with reviews, so the discussion about a review rarely takes place on social media. . And this annoys Thomas Michelsen.
On the other hand, Politiken's reporters at the concert halls often receive direct email responses to their reviews. Some scold him for disagreeing with their opinion of the performance of a piece of music, but there are also others who thank me for expressing their opinion in the article. And they all get a response.
-I see my task as being an ordinary concertgoer who hears the same thing as the audience in the hall or at the speakers, but who can give the review an extra dimension and background due to my background.
-"I really enjoy creating debate around what I write. And it's okay to tease us reviewers. But I can get annoyed if people scold me for not being prepared or, as someone once wrote to me: you haven't been to the concert you reviewed in the newspaper.
-Of course I've been to the concerts. There may have been examples in the past of reviewers neglecting their duties, but seriously, we owe it to ourselves to be prepared when reviewing highly professional and extremely well-prepared musicians.
The reviewed artists also write to Thomas Michelsen, albeit rarely.
-There's an old piece of advice for artists that they shouldn't argue with critics. I don't agree with that. I want to hear feedback from the people I review.
-You undoubtedly bother someone now and then?
- I'm sorry if I hurt anyone in my reviews. It is ”Downside.” in the job. But you shouldn't be a reviewer if you can't write what you mean.
The stars that reviewers throw around more or less liberally have an impact on how many people read the reviews, especially when it comes to the web. A single star or a full house, six, will attract more readers than three or four stars.
-"And it annoys me when we at Politiken try to be balanced in our judgements. I give four stars to a concert that I leave happy and would like to hear again. Five stars for the excellent performance and six stars for the absolutely incredible.
As recently as the concert on 27 September, however, it was only two stars. Not because of the orchestra's playing, but because of the conductor, Manfred Honeck, and not least the soloist, Rudolf Buchbinder's performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. With the remarkably low grade came a call to DR to make greater demands on guest conductors - and soloists, when they meet such a well-playing orchestra.
Thomas Michelsen gave the extremely rare six stars to the first concert with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra this season. Brahms’ 2nd Symphony, Korngold's Violin Concerto and the Scandinavian premiere of Hans Abrahamsen's Three Pieces for Orchestra.
- Yes, it can't happen too often that six stars are given. My reasoning this time was: Is there anyone I would rather hear play Korngold's Violin Concerto than Kavakos? Well, no. Was there anything to complain about the repertoire? No, there wasn't. Was the level of performance and conductor (Luisi) satisfactory? Yes, it was more than that.
Thomas Michelsen is almost always present in the theatre when he reviews concerts. ”Almost” means that he has occasionally reviewed Thursday concerts live from the radio station P2 to also assess and judge the accompanying comments and interviews that the 500,000 listeners across the country enjoy when they tune in to a Thursday concert.
When Thomas Michelsen sits in the concert hall in DR-Byen, he always has paper and pen with him. He takes a few notes during the concert. So when he leaves the concert hall, he knows what he wants to write in the review. The next day he writes the review in about an hour.
Politiken - like other media - prioritises harder today than before. At Politiken, there are two regular classical music reviewers. The other is Henrik Friis. Previously, there were four reviewers at the newspaper, so not all concerts in the Concert Hall are reviewed in the newspaper's columns today. But it is in DR-Byen that Thomas Michelsen does most of his reviews. Reviews are few and far between, but also between concerts in the country's other concert halls. The prioritisation is of course based on how many of the magazine's readers have a relationship with the reviewed concerts.
-But you occasionally go abroad and review concerts there. How many readers do you think follow in your footsteps or were present with you in the theatre?
-No. Not many. But it's almost exclusively operas that I travel abroad for. I do this because it's important to know what's being performed on the stages in Munich, Berlin, Salzburg and Bayreuth. I'm sure many readers will be interested to know how we measure performances at the Royal Danish Opera against what is being performed in these cities, for example. After all, the Royal Theatre is not necessarily unique.
- You are 19 reviewers in the country. Imagine you were all reviewing the same concert. Wouldn't that give very different results and show huge differences in the number of stars?
- I actually think there would be more agreement than you might think. It's actually rare that we're on opposite ends of the spectrum. But there are differences. A PhD thesis written at the university shows that Politiken is a little more reluctant to praise than Berlingske and Jyllands-Posten. Basically, it's probably also a question of whether you think the review should generate enthusiasm or a critical discussion.