I have to love an accusation of pomposity that starts "You, sir..."

You have poo pooed some recordings and conductors that I have loved for years. And this only has caused me to look at the works more closely, and explore other recordings on your recommendation. Sometimes I come around to your views and sometimes I don't. And when I don't, I don't have the urge to flame you. Instead I appreciate your insights and knowledge. Thank you Dave.

How dare he! You are not pompous. Joking aside, you are irreverent and humorous (things that are apparently still taboo in the saccharine holier-than-thou classical music scene), and that's why we love you

The first time I listened to the Samuel/Cincinnati recording of Rott's symphony, I foolishly jumped out of my chair to answer the phone, only then realizing that it was the omnipresent triangle.

I believe that R.W.S. is the dedicatee of the lost 15th variation of Elgar's Enigma Variations. Elgar dropped the movement (subtitled "Dimrod") because he was such an A-Hole.

Your channel is amazing! Hours and hours and hours of education and entertainment wrapped in one! Truly a gift. Bless you!

We have lost discourse these days (too much anger). Keep going Dave, speak your heart on music : )

You are an amazingly knowledgeable musicologist and speaker. I love your channel.

You are the best, Dave. I have purchased several of your books-snf found them scholarly, well researched and easy to read, being entertaining and chatty in many cases. Your daily video starts my day in a very positive way-a real antidote to the garbage going on the much of the world today. Kol Hakavod!

Not only are You a "Pompous A-Hole", You're brutally funny on top of that! I've been following Classics today intermittently for at least 20 years and the quality of the reviews have given me many "A-Ha" moments finding new repertoire and alternative favourite recordings of works I adore (and UCMG is marvellous entertaining visual branch of CT!)

Dear Dave, I hardly miss any of your daily videos, except maybe those of detailed musicological analyses that my knowledge is not enough to understand. Your speech is always thorough and never prejudiced, although always direct and highly communicative. Even in cases of artists I appreciate, such as Ferrier and Furtwangler, I find your technical objections to be well-founded; it's just that, for my taste, I am seduced by the atmosphere of the above artists' performances and I am deeply moved by it.

Well; "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing." att. to Aristotle

I love this. I know this type of character. The number of times I get asked after concerts why I don’t play composer X instead of Beethoven or whoever! Composer X is almost always a 19th century composer whose obscurity is fully deserved.

Thank you, Mr. RWS, for giving us all a good laugh. Great work, Dave! 😂

I suspect that Hans Rott and R.W.S caught the same train.

As always a very enjoyable talk, I love your sence of humour.

If Rott used a tam tam instead of triangle in the symphony, it’d be a whole different scenario 😂 😉

Hi Dave, to my opinion Your videos are treasure for classical music heritage and contribute a-lot to me, personally. Your channel is very much appreciated.

Your friendly light-hearted approach to such a serious subject was a new-found pleasure to me, when I stumbled upon your You Tube channel, a few months ago. You make me laugh out loud, at least once in every talk. Sadly, I can neither read music nor play an instrument, but I have a good size collection of LPs and CDs. It was gratifying, one day, to hear you recommend Brahms string sextets, two ‘faves’ of mine. I also like those late clarinet/piano duets, not to mention the piano quartets. I have a lot of , ‘faves’. Being musically illiterate, I buy different performances of delightful pieces, maybe too many, and listen for what I can hear. Memorable passages stick in mind like barnacles on a seventy-six-year-old sea wall. (I am Old) Recordings play those sounds back to my ear like a rising tide bringing a refreshing new experience to this old crustation, even if I have heard them many times before. Also, different recordings bring forth different experiences of the same piece. Arthur Rubenstein is still my ‘fave” for Chopin’s Ballads, after buying a lot of different disks. Seems like just the right amount of Arthur and the right amount of Frederik’s fabulous! miraculous! soundscapes. I now have an Arthur box. Warmest Regards, Tony Bates

Hate mail like this is a weapon much loved by more extreme cult members, who let their warped emotions dominate their intelligence. Your new videos are for me an immediate "go to" every day and I often refer to the older ones too. They are entertaining (e.g. the take-downs of Norrington) as well as highly informative, given your incredibly wide knowledge of the classical music scene. Keep them coming and don't change a thing in your style. Incidentally Hans Rott is a new name for me and my curiosity is piqued. I'll look for CDs of some of his music.

Thanks, David! You're the best

I love your humour and pomposity and don’t change a thing !, other than love to hear more about the tam tam in symphonies

Well I am going to come out and say it right now, you are nothing but a wonderful, kind, intelligent, tasteful, humorous and knowledgeable critic of recorded classical music. I enjoy your videos, even the ones about music I do not care for! I do not have time or money to buy and listen to 15 recordings of the Hammerklavier, so I appreciate you recommendations of several versions and your explanations of the differences in the interpretations. This is very helpful and really I enjoy you sense of humor. As far as Hans Rott is concerned, I have not encountered his music, and will probably not voluntarily do so. I am sorry to hear he tragically died young. I do recall that Mozart and Schubert also died quite young, but not before leaving us a mountain load of masterpieces. So I spend more time listening to them than to obscure, (for a reason?) composers. Loved the video you intelligent, humorous and knowledgeable, you absolute wonderful critic! Take that!

Must say I just listened to the Rott symphony, and must say I too see moments of great listening and inspiration amongst the weeds. I think Mahler said he knew what he wanted but could not at his youthful age get there. There are certainly some possible foreshadowings of Mahler's 1st amongst the Brucknerian floss; rather glad your Mr. Pomposity pointed me to hear a fascinating if greatly overblown work. Sorry about that, Hottians...

I’ve heard some say that, but I don’t think so. You are very opinionated but not pompous in any way. And I wouldn’t call you an A-hole. I think you’re very well educated and present your thoughts in regular language, and yes…you are very firm in your opinions. That’s OK with me. I’m sort of the same way. We more often agree. When we disagree, I like to do so with respect. Over the years, you’ve turned me on to a lot of recordings I had previously dismissed….mostly with the Dresden State Orch.

The parallels drawn from the topic of this video with the current political climate is profound, thank you!

Before I watched this video, I had to watch your Rott, Vol.1 review which I'd missed. The end of the Pastoral Prelude reminded me of the end of Arnold's Grand, Grand Overture-- except that Rott meant it seriously. I have the symphony, but after two playings, it gathers dust on the shelf. I'd say you did exact justice to Rott.

Yesterday came across Beethoven or Bust. Got it. We live in such a wonderful age where the best music ever made is at our fingertips. And hopefully, more to come. Thanks.

Thanks for this. I thought I might be missing something. I've heard a lot of the Rott recordings and was mystified by the comparisons to Mahler. Indeed, I found Mahler's remark about Rott as the inventor of the modern symphony incomprehensible.

Dear David: I watch their programs on KZfaq from Mexico City. I find them instructive and very fun. Some of your comments are awful but most are smart and make me laugh. It has given me back a great interest in music and a deep analysis of works while retaining a great sense of humor. Of course he must have detractors but I have his channel as the favorite of my KZfaq subscriptions. What would I like? Shorter or dosed videos. With my respect and admiration: Victor Flores Zavala

I love it when you hold up a recording I have and then say what I also think about it, so maybe I'm pompous too.I hope so! 😂

@DavesClassicalGuide: I love how you embraced his derogatory description of you and turned it into yet another useful video! Kudos!

Dave, in common with just about every music critic/reviewer, you have described works I love as boring or something equally negative; you have described composers I admire as good but not great. This may momentarily upset me but it doesn't make you an a-hole and you should not stop. As you say, you will not! The a-hole is the person who doesn't recognise that critics criticise, reviewers review. I have no doubt at all that if Rott had written wonderful and significant works you would be happy to say so and, as with many other composers, trigger your viewers into hearing them.

You zero nonsense & down to earth & in this day & age that’s to be commended.

If I were in your shoes right now, I'd probably send him an email back with a picture of that wonderful t-shirt "Abnormal is fine, stupid is not". And maybe throw in a christmas discount. Telling these people to use their own minds and decide for themselves is probably the worst thing to do to them, because it leaves them nothing to fight nor to worship.

Literally LOLed! Thanks for the fun.

You hit the nail on the head when you said how cultish fans can't handle mixed and/or nuanced reviews and neither can many performers. I would say that 99 per cent of the hate mail I receive about my writing is in response to mixed reviews, but never in response to a negative review.

It is a comfort to learn I am not alone. I am fortunate to count a member of the Hans Rott cult amongst my musical circle. He considers Rott's e-major symphony as a Holy Grail of 19th century music, and it is a personal spiritual failing on your part if you fail to recognise it. Well, I think it is an interesting piece, and Rott undoubtedly showed great promise. But what more can one say?

You know you are winning when you get a message like that. It means your review had substance, which is what these cultists are afraid of. It makes it hard for them to come up with objective reasons why an opinion is wrong! Roll on Dave. You carry on being ‘a pompous A-hole’.

Welcome to the club, Dave

I like how it's your obligation to "absolve yourself" for the sake of a complete nobody.

I'm a member of some of the Bruckner groups on Facebook. Watching them try and discuss recording is remarkably entertaining, but nothing gets them charged up quite like when your name is mentioned! They had a whole bunch of discussion if they were really in a cult or not... Needless to say they couldn't see the forest through the trees.

Well... he did call you Sir. Sir Pompous A-hole has a nice ring to it, kind of like Sir Roger Norrington, don't you think?

Sorry you get flack. You give us so much. What you do is immensely helpful. Love to cats.

I was sad to hear you get anti-semitic hate messages... So much poison on the interwebs... :( For me you're one of the best things on it. You've also made washing dishes (something I spend an ever-astonishingly large amount of time doing, living alone and lacking a dishwasher) significantly less onerous! That is when I mostly listen to you, though also often at bedtime. I find it a nice calming focus for my mind to listen to a talk or two. Anyway, keep rolling Dave! You're constructing a thoroughly amazing and comprehensive body of work which so many people will be able to use as a guide for exploring the greatest thing out there. Cheers!

BTW, the Hans Rott Society has an absolutely slammin' website that looks like it hasn't changed since 1995.

Quite a lot of people in the classical music world really don't like Dave. They fail to get the role of the critic as someone who serves the listening public rather than performers. Thank God for Dave, for he doesn't do fawning sycophancy and is therefore worth listening to, whether you agree with him on whatever you happen to love, or not.

Dear Mr. Pompous. Can you please do a video on the best recordings of Tchai’s 1812?

You are not a pompous A-hole, nor a pompous anything else. You're the most interesting, worthwhile, and witty commentator on classical music on KZfaq - or anywhere. I bet RWS will come back, though - these fruitcakes always, or nearly always, do.

30 seconds in and I felt sure you were going to say it was a Furtwänglerianista that was on your case, given your recent mention of his weaknesses (which obviously never, ever existed!!) But the Hans Rott society? 😅 Didn't see that one coming!!

For people who are heavily into Mahler, that big, messy symphony by Hans Rott is definitely worth hearing. It is an interesting element of the musical culture in which massive works that challenged the old musical structures were starting to appear. However, if you are looking for another Mahler and are hoping for a hidden masterpiece, you won't find that here. I've always viewed Hans Rott as an interesting curiosity, and I had no idea that a cult of Rotters had emerged. The Bruckner cult is well known and suitably annoying. Of course, there are the Baxians, but they seem to be more self aware than typical music cultists. I like both Bruckner and Bax, and I even think Rott is worth hearing, but I'm not going to have a hissy fit if someone criticizes them. I have the misfortune of being interested in some other cultural products that attract nutty fans, so I'm very well aware of this fan cult dynamic. Classical music fandoms are quite tame compared to many of these. Anime fandom is a toxic stew, with obsessive fans (weeaboos) who base their entire identity and sense of self on weird Japanese cartoons. Science fiction fans are infamous generally, and the Star Wars fandom, in particular, is a glorious train wreck that is destroying itself from within. Pop music is well known for this. I'm not into the artists who attract toxic fans today (although the K-Pop fandom is fun to watch for all the wrong reasons), but I like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles, all of whom attracted some very crazy devotees back in the day. And I've saved the worst for last - video games. I've been a gamer since the late 1970s, which is about as long as I've been into classical music. There have been many generations of pointless console wars, and this sad state of affairs continues to this day. Sadly, I was an active participant in the Atari vs. Commodore rivalry back when I was young and stupid. A few years ago, a bunch of basement-dwelling neckbeards got upset because a few women criticized sexism in their beloved hobby, so they started a harassment campaign that culminated in death threats. These chuds continue to complain loudly, but their complaints sound increasingly desperate, as the culture is finally moving on from them and becoming more inclusive. Online multiplayer gaming is a toxic pit of despair that I refuse to enter, but morbid curiosity drives me to watch from the outside. If you really want to lose faith in humanity, watching this crazy scene will do it. All in all, the classical music fandom is not too bad by comparison. I would much rather deal with a herd of obsessive Brucknerians or a few committed Rotters than even one malodorous basement-dwelling neckbeard whose life revolves around video games. There is nothing wrong with being a fan of something, but when your entire identity revolves around it to the point that you feel personally attacked when someone doesn't like something that you like, then it has become unhealthy, and you need to step back and reevaluate your priorities.

" [To a cultist] qualified praise is even worse than being purely negative." Truer words were never spoken. Memories of my own callow youth attest to it.

This is just a guess, but I wonder if the letter writer is someone who is working on a doctoral thesis on Hans Rott. I hadn't watched the original video yet, but now I'm at least intrigued enough to watch it, and probably give Rott Sym #1 a try.

I am a pompous A-hole needs to go on a Classics Today T-shirts 😂

The person who sent you that email, is probably a fan of Djabadary's Piano Concerto. Most likely played in the orchestra that recorded that monster.

If you aim to please everyone, you have nothing worth sharing your opinion on.

Some one who showed tremendous promises was Guillaume Lekeu. His violin sonata is terrific.

As my dear father used to say, there's always some fool coming... You have better things to do than concern yourself with this guy, Dave, just concentrate on what you do best. We're right behind you!

So he's never heard of Classics Today, never heard of Dave Hurwitz, never heard of Hans Rott, but he just happened to be watching a Dave Hurwitz review of Hans Rott? A review that induced the mother of all triggerings? Yeah, I'm calling BS on Mr 'RWS'

Well done Dave 👍 Perfect 😂

Pomposity and ass-holedness can be endearing and important ingredients in an effective teaching style -- keep up the good work.

If you are in the pubic eye you are going to be called either 'pompous' or 'a-hole' or both together. I enjoy your videos even if I don't know enough about classical music to understand them completely.

And you think Bruckner fans are bad ! Serves you right. At least he told you how to redeem yourself. Very helpful.

Usually, when I don't like something you say, I just watch the day's five new videos, and my upset feelings are diluted by all those new opinions, and I calm down.

Good Lord. Why do people think critics who don’t share their every view are somehow committing some moral affront? That said, “You, sir, are a pompous asshole” is definitely an attention-grabbing opening gambit. I think you’re an inexhaustible resource and (sometimes) wonderfully cantankerous. In other words, you’re a great critic. Adieu, RWS!

As a “point of order, Mr Speaker”, it is perfectly possible to be a pompous so-and-so and be and be an outstanding musical critic at the same time. The two things are not mutually exclusive.

"Nuance is the enemy of cultism" (Dave Hurwitz) Good one!

Potential discussion idea - how do I know if I’ve drunk the kool aid?

Ugh anyone who says this is so transparently and unattractively bitter. You have thousands and thousands of fans and followers and are beloved by many!

I want to see this on your next shirt.

Generally speaking, when someone starts their argument with a personal attack on the person with whom they disagree, they've already weakened, if not completely undercut, their actual argument.

Rott's life was so sad and short (he lost his sanity at 22) that you can't help but feel sympathy for him as a person. But as you pointed out, honest critical evaluation of the music is another matter. Even Mahler qualified his praise of Rott by saying, "To be sure, what he wanted was not quite what he achieved. But I know where he aims". Rott cultists will never get that. BTW Dave, you're not an asshole. To use more hip hop lingo, haters gonna hate.

There is a psychological tendency in many people to sympathize with a person who is perceived (rightly or wrongly) as a 'victim' of any kind, as in this instance, the composer died young and went insane. There are many cults or at least obsessions about artists with particular biographical details. Apparently some people think that if you died young and suffered from psychological problems that means you are a misunderstood genius, unjustly treated by humans and history. There are also cases of people who having similar traits themselves, they identify too uncritically with the artist and consider any negative criticism against him as a personal insult. Maybe the guy who sent you the email was in that category. Never change, Dave.

Talking about lemmings - when are the ALDAa coming??

I love you, Dave. You are very fair and support your opinions with irrefutable evidence. If anything, you have made pomposity a virtue. Not that I always agree with you. For instance, Garrick Ohlsson's recordings of the five Beethoven concerti rank up there with Fleischer's, in my opinion, but Ohlsson didn't get a mention in your overview review, no doubt, because he was accompanied by a fine but pedestrian "festival" orchestra, and perhaps because most critics limit appreciation of him to his specialty, Chopin. Also, maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard you comment on the Beethoven playing of Rudolf Buchbinder or Ivan Moravec. Having listened to their recordings for almost 60 years, I have heard no more nuanced, heroic and satisfying interpretations of Beethoven's sonatas, bagatelles and concerti.

David provides a great wealth of classical music information and I pretty much don't follow his final recommendations at all. We all have own own tastes and choices and that's all the matters. Someone else's disapproval aint gonna make you like your treasured recording any less.

Whatever you are, I forgive you because you alerted me to the "Remains of Tom Lehrer" album while I was still able to get a copy in good shape and a very reasonable price from a purveyor of used recordings. I am a Tom Lehrer cultist. I confess.

I was described as an incorrigible snob because I did not agree that Muti is a phenomenon. Not in the same as your insult but made me feel very proud.

Dear Mr. RWS: You mad, bro?

I've been called a "coffee asshole" (jokingly by friends,) because I dare to spoil coffee by stirring in a drop of milk. As far as Rott goes, I like the impressive way his symphony begins, but then have to bail out. I think the recordings are more a testament to good conducting, holding a weak work together as well as good playing, bringing out the beauty of the orchestra, over the music itself. One of my composition teachers in music school years ago once mentioned that Beethoven's Consecration of the House Overture was "one of his weakest pieces yet Toscanini made it all sound great." Anyway, thank you for your insightful reviews. I enjoy them very much.

Our dear Mr. Hurwitz can certainly once in a while err on the side of pompousity, but whether that's a general character trait, is slightly more debatable! 😉 I remember the Roth review and it was ever as balanced and nuanced as Mr. Hurwitz claims it is. And how the complainant can get to the conclusion, he gets to, is quite mysterious. One wonders whether he actually listened to it? What concerns the snide unpleasant remarks and the veiled insinuations, he makes, they are simply just that: unpleasant! And what's more, they clearly show who is the real A-RWS-hole here! 💣

What impertinence. You are the total antithesis of being a pompous sphincter.... you are, and have been for quite some time, the greatest source of enlightenment and profound insight into the world of classical music.... the world is full of wierdos, so please consign this eccentric person to email re-cycling, and forget you ever heard of it. You are fantastic as you are David, so all you have to do is maintain the brilliant person that you are.

Keep at it Dave. I enjoy your erudite, intelligent and humorous posts. I don't always agree with everything you say, but if we all liked the same thing it would be a boring old world. BW, Jeff W

I find it hilarious that this person thought that the mere threat that he would not watch or read any of your reviews would be enough for you to write an apology article on classics today 😂

The world of the arts - including music - fascinates me for the way its adherents indulge in various levels of insult and abuse towards each other. As if creation wasn't hard enough for its sources without any need to make life harder for others. Polite debate is always the best course. no matter how ignited some individuals appear to be in the pursuit of their tastes and opinions. As the old expression here in the UK advises: Don't get your knickers in a twist!

Didn't know Hans Rott's music. Soon I will! 😅

No way! Shocking!

I’m now wondering who this person is. I play in a local community orchestra and we have a fellow player who seems to know a lot about Hans Rott. He is the only person I’ve ever known to even mention the composer and he apparently did a term paper on the composer when in college. By the way, the initials do not match my orchestra colleague.

Perhaps "I'm a pompous asshole" is potential T-shirt material. It's utterly insane what people feel justified to say behind a screen. As a question, how does one avoid becoming a cult member when interested in a cult composer? My instinct says focusing on the music above biographical notes may be a good start...

Should you praise a restaurant that has the potential to serve good food?

The rain it raineth every day Upon the just and unjust feller But most upon the just because The unjust has the just's umbrella.

Fan boys gonna fan.

criticism is inherently pompous, otherwise it cant be done, one has to take a position of affectation and self importance to critically judge anything..there was a polish theatre critic whose name eludes me who came close to avoiding it but very few others and thats fine, thats what a listener (in this case) wants, a a knowing guide with passion and dedication who they learn to trust by the recommendations or dismissal..all we can hope is that the critic uses judgement that combines not only their own taste, but the opinions of informed others and where a piece of art fits within the landscape of other works.. Dave always does this and that is the reason I watch his videos everyday. We cant glorify someones work merely because of tragedy even if it informs the work in some way there has to be evidence of a talent that stands out when compared to others. I am sure I probably wouldnt have bonded with Lester Bangs or Robert Christgau or Barney Hoskyns or Whitney Balliet but quite frankly who gives a rats ass. What I want is to hear more good music that I probably wouldnt have discovered by chance...Dave has provided me with so many new musical gorgeosities (only two nights ago I was sobbing over the touch of Moravec..so effing beautiful) so as Dave would say 'who cares' if he annoys some people, we cant have opinions that everyone would agree with as they wouldnt be worth expressing...

A Hans Rott groupie! Something for everyone online.

"nuance is the enemy of cultism" --> t shirt 👍

Keep ignoring the trolls, you're a rock star! 👍

No lo creo. Usted me ayudó mucho en orientarme a apreciar a Bruckner y a Mahler correctamente. Yo se lo agradezco.

😂😂😂 Well some of us love you anyway!

Thanks for this! I admire you for having a great sense of humor about morons like this. Keep doing what you do! By the way, it appears from its (very primitive) website that Cordell is a cruise and expedition agency - cruises up the crazy river and expeditions to the bottom of the barrel, evidently.

Good point on "badge of honor" when you consider the source, which is the inverse of Groucho Marx's criterion for club membership: I wouldn't want to be a member of a club that has such a member.