A few weeks ago we posted a link in ArtsJournal to a piece in the Toronto Star under the admittedly provocative headline: "Time To Retire Beethoven's Ninth?" In the piece, John Terauds, who used to be the Star's staff classical music critic, suggested it might be time to put away the Ninth Symphony for a while. Why? In his words: We have the 19th-century ideal of strength in unity — … [Read more...]