The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) is a society for
music critic
'' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
s of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
in the United States and Canada.
[ ] Founded in 1956, the MCANA is a member of the
National Music Council and both publishes an annual newsletter and confers a
Best New Opera award.
Numerous
chief music critics have been associated with it; past presidents include
Robert Commanday
Robert Paul Commanday (June 18, 1922 – September 3, 2015) was an American music critic who specialized in classical music. Among the leading critics of the West Coast of the United States, West Coast, Commanday was a major presence in the Ba ...
,
Miles Kastendieck,
Irving Lowens and
Donald Rosenberg
Donald Rosenberg (born 1952) is an American musician, music critic and journalist.
Biography
Rosenberg was born in New York City and educated at the Mannes College of Music and the Yale School of Music. He is a French horn, horn player, who par ...
, while critics elected to lifetime memberships include
Paul Hume,
Paul Henry Lang,
Harold C. Schonberg and
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...
.
Overview
The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) was founded in 1956.
It stemmed from discussion during a 1952
League of American Orchestras symposium between music critics and conductors.
Its early history began with workshops sponsored by numerous organizations: League of American Orchestras, the ''
New York Music Critics Circle'', New York PO and the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
.
According to the musicologist Rita H. Mead, "it has sponsored annual courses for younger professionals and senior critics in an effort to promote high standards of music criticism, encourage educational opportunities and increase general interest in music".
The MCANA is the only North American organization devoted to classical
music criticism
'' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
.
Critics associated in the MCANA's early history included
Paul Hume,
Miles Kastendieck,
Irving Lowens and
Harold C. Schonberg.
Critics Hume,
Paul Henry Lang, Schonberg and
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...
were given lifetime memberships.
The organization's presidents have included
Robert Commanday
Robert Paul Commanday (June 18, 1922 – September 3, 2015) was an American music critic who specialized in classical music. Among the leading critics of the West Coast of the United States, West Coast, Commanday was a major presence in the Ba ...
, Kastendieck, Lowens and
Donald Rosenberg
Donald Rosenberg (born 1952) is an American musician, music critic and journalist.
Biography
Rosenberg was born in New York City and educated at the Mannes College of Music and the Yale School of Music. He is a French horn, horn player, who par ...
.
Its membership—which consists of not only critics, but also program annotators and radio producers—includes writers at ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news.
Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
'', the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', ''
The Cincinnati Enquirer
''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...
'', ''
The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'', ''
Musical America
''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online magazine, online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey.
...
'', ''
NewMusicBox
''NewMusicBox'' is an e-zine launched by the American Music Center on May 1, 1999. The magazine includes interviews and articles concerning American contemporary music, composers, improvisers, and musicians.
A few interviews include renown ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Plain Dealer
''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...
'', ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''.
It produces an annual newsletter and an award for
Best New Opera.
In 2013, it launched its online journal ''Classical Voice North America''.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{portal bar, Classical music, Music
American music critics
American music journalists