Kozinn goes regional

Allan Kozinn, formerly one of The New York Times’ most accomplished classical-music critics, contemplates reviewing the Portland [ME] Symphony, a regional orchestra, after years of hearing performances by the New York Philharmonic and other international-grade ensembles:

“The standard of musical education is extraordinarily high in the United States these days, and young players with polished techniques are pouring out of conservatories and finding jobs in orchestras everywhere. So it should not be surprising to find (or, for that matter, to expect) that the performance level of a regional orchestra is quite high,” he writes by way of introduction to his new reviewing gig, at the Portland Press Herald:

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/08/30/music-critic-allan-kozinn-finds-a-home-in-portland/

His move from New York to Portland was a step up, professionally. After being shunted from classical music to “general” cultural coverage, which turned out to include “Justin Bieber’s misbehavior, the lawsuits swirling around Chris Brown [and] the arrest of a minor heavy-metal singer charged with trying to have his ex-wife murdered,” Kozinn last year took a buyout offer from The Times.

via www.artsjournal.com