San Francisco Chronicle Classical Music Critic Joshua Kosman Reflects on the Critic’s Role, as He Retires After Nearly 4 Decades

In Tuesday’s (4/23) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman writes, “I was a music critic long before anyone paid me to do it. I was an ordinary pop music buff as a kid, but as soon as I discovered classical music in my early teens, I knew it was going to be a lifelong commitment…. At the end of this month, I will retire from the San Francisco Chronicle, where I’ve spent my entire 36-year career…. Even in our current age of media contraction, the Chronicle has been an ideal perch from which to survey all the incredible musical activity our region has to offer…. I learned early on that arts criticism isn’t about handing out grades or ratings. It’s not, or at least it shouldn’t be, reducible to a thumbs-up or thumbs-down reaction emoji…. The important thing is to have the conversation, to take music seriously in all its divine glory and human fallibility…. Criticism isn’t a matter of keeping score…. [But] to have an honest response to what I heard and to record it faithfully. In this respect, my task has been no different from that of any other audience member…. That doesn’t mean there aren’t skills to be learned…. But for professional or lay critics alike, the effect comes first. We listen, we react and then we go in search of the reasons we responded as we did.”