BBC Radio 3, 7 August 1972

The first and natural reaction of a composer, or indeed of any creative artist, to the critic is to regard him as an enemy. ‘What right’, he says, ‘has Mr X to sit in judgement on my work? Could he do it any better himself? If so, why doesn't he? If not, let him be silent.’

Further reflection, however, will make him realise that there is more to be said than this. He should observe that this first reaction is invariably prompted by adverse criticism. He would be unlikely to have experienced it if he had received a favourable notice. Furthermore, the argument that the critic, because he's not himself a composer or executant, has no right to judge leads to considerable difficulty for it means that only other composers can criticise a composer; that singers and pianists can only be judged by those who themselves can sing and play; and even, if pushed to its logical conclusion, that in order to assess the performance of an orchestra the critic must be able to play all the instruments.

It is in any case doubtful whether it would be advantageous for a musician to be criticised exclusively by his colleagues. For though, in my experience, musicians tend to be tolerant and even appreciative of each other they are often not the best critics, being inevitably affected by the personal predilections that have made them into the composer or the performer that they are and that have led them to evolve an individual style.