The Rosenberg crescendo

Whether it is Cleveland sports or even, it seems, Cleveland music the fans go wild.

Former BJ type Don Rosenberg, who has covered the Cleveland Orchestra for nearly three decades, was told September 17 by the paper's editor that he will no longer be covering the famed Cleveland Orchestra. Rosenberg will still be a music critic, but Zack Lewis is now the orchestra's reviewer.

The cry when up immediately and seems to be growing every day.

"So what did he do wrong?" blogged Baltimore Sun classical music critic Tim Smith who was one of the first to spring to Rosenberg’s defense.. "He has questioned, more than once, the sanctity of the Cleveland Orchestra's music director, Franz Welser-Most. ...The Plain Dealer has clearly caved into pressure from a faction representing the orchestra and the man on its podium."

Next a bunch of bloggers and the New York Times jumped into the fray. It is a chore just trying to provide viewers with links to all of them.

Not unexpectedly, the best discourse on the sour notes comes from Greg Sandow, a composer, critic and consultant who writes about classical music for–yes–the Wall Street Journal.

“And what kind of newspaper coverage will the Cleveland Orchestra now get?” asks Sandow. “ In Cleveland, the coverage now might look tainted. If Mr. Lewis writes friendly reviews, he might have been told to write them. If he writes unfavorably, he might be bending that way to prove that he's independent. How can anyone know?

“”Nationally, things might look even worse. This whole affair highlights something the orchestra surely doesn't want widely publicized -- that Mr. Welser-Möst has detractors. Who now won't know that? And what will critics write? The orchestra tours every year. Won't critics listen with even more critical ears? They're primed, now, to listen for trouble. And, if only unconsciously, they might want to support Mr. Rosenberg.”

And finally, weighing in Sunday was PD ombudsman Ted Diadiun who wrote:

“Should we believe that, after standing up to angry industry leaders, county commissioners, advertisers and others on issues of journalistic principle, [editor Susan] Goldberg would wither in front of some orchestra patrons? I don't.

“Like many of you, I am sad to lose Donald Rosenberg's voice as orchestra critic of this newspaper. But it doesn't follow that the decision to remove him was based on anything other than Susan Goldberg's honest belief that the change would be in the best interests of the newspaper and its readers - a decision that is her right and responsibility to make.”

Top executives of newspapers often are members of the board of things like the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Clinic, a Chamber of Commerce or any number of community organizations.

Good newspaper reporters know they cannot belong to organizations they might have to cover. It is not that the reporter might write a prejudiced report but sometimes there could be an appearance of a conflict of interest so that what he writes cannot be trusted.

Don Rosenberg was the classical music critic at the Beacon Journal from 1977 to 1989.
You can send email to Rosenberg at orch7@sbcglobal.net

Here are the other links

Baltimore Sun

Wall Street Journal

New York Times

Plain Dealer Ted Diadiun

Arts Journal

Arts Blog of Orange County Register

Andrew Patner