Letters to the Editor – Music criticism, daylight saving time, infrastructure bill, social media
You shouldn’t compare orchestras
Re: “DSO struggles with English – Elgar’s First didn’t sparkle, but pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason glittered in Mendelssohn” and “FWSO performs better than Dallas – the guest conductor forces focus and precision in a creepy, spectacular program” by Scott Cantrell, 31 Oct. Reviews; and “Orchestral Comparison Is Risky,” by Scott Cantrell, Nov. 7th column.
All orchestras have great nights and “open” nights, and it is the music critic’s right and responsibility to provide comments and criticism. But when we compare two different orchestras with completely different repertoires, as Scott Cantrell does in his reviews of concerts by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fort Worth Orchestra on October 31 and in his column on November 7, we are doing both of us a disservice to the musicians as well as to the audience.
Music is not a competitive sport, and while this type of coverage can be effective click-bait, it undermines the viewer’s personal experience of attending a performance by focusing on who is supposedly “won” or “lost”. As President and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, I never want the success of our organization, or the accomplishments of our musicians, to be portrayed in a way that detracts from the importance of the many musicians and art promoters who make the Dallas-Fort Worth area such an important center of artistic activity.
Music is written and performed to move us, stimulate our imaginations, and open our minds to new possibilities. Reporting on the art form should seek similar values, and it would do well to avoid sensationalist approaches and provocative language that lead to the unnecessary and unproductive divisions we see in virtually every area of American life.
Music is a connecting and connecting element of people, and media coverage of music should inspire and enlighten, and not pit one artistic organization against another.
Kim Noltemy, Dallas
Ross Perot President and CEO, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
In defense of the time change
After reading all the complaints about it, I thought I had to defend our country’s daylight saving time regime. First of all, I like it in spring and summer, the days are longer. It allows for more outdoor activities after work in the evenings and has been shown to increase economic activity when in effect. How can you not like that?
Second, it means you keep taking your kids to school in the dark all year round. As any parent can tell you, getting the kids up and leaving in the morning is hard enough, and worse when it’s night. Third, it’s only an hour.
How many of us have traveled to a different time zone? Then do you do such a big deal about the clock change or only when you change your time at home? Changing the clocks early on Sunday morning disrupts our schedules the least. Come on guys, an hour twice a year isn’t that big of a deal. The positive outweigh the negative.
Robert A. Simpson, Laredo
What will Texas win?
I was looking for an article in the Dallas Morning News that described how much Texas could gain from the passage of the Infrastructure Bill. Also, I’d like to see a breakdown of how the Texas lawmakers voted on the bill.
Newspapers in other states had front-page headlines giving this information to their readers. It seems important that the public see this information in our Texan newspapers.
In the past, some lawmakers have been known to speak of the positive effects of a bill they have voted against. I would, of course, hope that our legislators would not recognize any bill that they voted against.
Phyllis Vaughn, Sherman
Just the facts
Isn’t it ironic that the guy who begged to host the fact-driven Jeopardy just can’t get his facts rolling?
Ann Thornton, East Dallas
From the fields
Re: “Fields of vision – Anna Alvarado picked grapes as a child and dreamed of more”, October 17th business history.
The story of Alvarado’s rise into the business world after picking grapes with her family as a young girl in California is impressive. What was more interesting for me was that she doesn’t regret or complain about being exposed to work as a teenager, but rather praises it for “creating hard work in my DNA”.
When I was 13, my father bought a farm and my mother, sisters, and I became farm laborers. We chopped cotton in the summer and pulled seed pods in the fall (on weekends). This was shortly before the mechanized capsule puller appeared. As an adult, I didn’t mind helping my husband set up his wood processing business or teaching at school later during the day and going to high school in the evening.
When I told my mother that I was glad I worked in the field, she looked surprised. I probably got upset about this as a teenager!
Mary Pritchard, Midlothian
Look out of the silo
Subject: “Former Subscriber’s Complaint,” by Thomas L. Raggio, letters dated November 1.
I was discouraged to read a letter from one of your former subscribers who decided to stop reading this newspaper because the opinions or the news did not align with his political views. I think we are too ready to ignore competing views under the “demolition culture” or become “snowflakes” offended by different views, whether we are right or left.
It is long overdue for us to hear and understand one another, even when we disagree. We need to get our news from reputable sources like The Dallas Morning News, Wall Street Journal, or Washington Post. We can surprise ourselves when we read different views that we may agree with.
We should also take a break from social media feeds. Their algorithms are designed to keep us in our bubbles, regardless of whether the stories are true or made up. They know we tend to only click what we like, and the more we click, the more money they make.
Ken Portnoy, North Dallas
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