Critics: Prince Uncharming

Sometimes Music Critic B. (for Bernard) H. (for nothing) Haggin looks around in concert halls and sees people under a spell. Not the spell of a dazzling performance or a moving composition, but the spell of ""a long-established ritual without reality or meaning — performers and listeners going through the motions of esthetic response to a piece of music in which the composer went through the motions of esthetic creation." For 44 years, Haggin has been playing the role of the music world's prince uncharming, turning out acerbic books and articles aimed...

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