David Hurwitz

[Karl Henning]

I took a stab at a booktube channel last summer.  What I learned from it is that if you don't create at least some idea of a script and do some editing you can end up blathering, exactly like how people describe some of Hurwitz' less inspired videos.

If any of you make a channel, I for one would watch it.  Especially if the videos are 5-10 minutes long.  Hurwitz' videos are too long and meandering for me to bother.

This thread is probably all the Hurwitz-founded content I require ....

[Todd]

I took a stab at a booktube channel last summer.  What I learned from it is that if you don't create at least some idea of a script and do some editing you can end up blathering, exactly like how people describe some of Hurwitz' less inspired videos.

Some YouTubers do well with a free form approach, but the channels I return to most tend to be either professionally produced or extremely focused, not uncommonly on arcane (sub-) topics.  I haven't searched too widely for classical music reviews, though I have had the famed YouTube algorithm push a couple Hurwitz knock-offs.  Maybe target 3-4 minutes max for single disc releases, 10-20 minutes for boxes depending on size, and a max of 30 minutes for surveys.

[Herman]

If any of you make a channel, I for one would watch it.  Especially if the videos are 5-10 minutes long.  Hurwitz' videos are too long and meandering for me to bother.

And yet, almost everything involving talking on youtube lasts way too long. Forty minutes seems to be the bare minimum.
Podcast are by definition crazy long and very slow, too.
Maybe you're supposed to be braindead, or watching tv at the same time.

[Todd]

And yet, almost everything involving talking on youtube lasts way too long. Forty minutes seems to be the bare minimum.

This reflects the content preferences of one viewer only. 

[Brian]

And yet, almost everything involving talking on youtube lasts way too long. Forty minutes seems to be the bare minimum.
Podcast are by definition crazy long and very slow, too.
Maybe you're supposed to be braindead, or watching tv at the same time.

I listen to podcasts, and Hurwitz videos, while cleaning. Especially good when scrubbing the bathroom. Although there is a little bit of a Zoom-induced irrational fear that maybe Hurwitz can see me cleaning the toilet 

[Karl Henning]

I listen to podcasts, and Hurwitz videos, while cleaning. Especially good when scrubbing the bathroom. Although there is a little bit of a Zoom-induced irrational fear that maybe Hurwitz can see me cleaning the toilet 

(* chortle *)

[(poco) Sforzando]

I listen to podcasts, and Hurwitz videos, while cleaning. Especially good when scrubbing the bathroom. Although there is a little bit of a Zoom-induced irrational fear that maybe Hurwitz can see me cleaning the toilet 

He can, he can. (No pun intended.) Try him for late-afternoon naps. I've yet to find anyone so effective.

[Karl Henning]

I am inclined to agree with this.

Just the other day I needed some guidance on how to fit <some component or other> into <something or other> and in the absence of anything useful on the manufacturer's laughingly-described "support" webpages, I turned to YouTube, where the choice of assistance seemed to be between:

1.  45-second wordless stop-motion animations with a pounding music track;  or

2.  45-minute rambles from some hands-in-pockets backwoods genius strolling around his "shop" and spending the first 10 minutes greeting all his "fans" - who I will do him the courtesy of supposing are not entirely imaginary - except to add that I am not and never likely to be one.

Intelligent succinct informational videos?  Fergeddaboudit.

You're making me grateful for videos like this:

[Madiel]

Creating YouTube content is free and available to all.  Perhaps someone here could start his or her own YouTube channel to show everyone how it's done.  Just click the camera icon in the upper right corner.

I see your ability to be a jerk about people using a forum to have conversations about things is not confined to any one topic.

[Todd]

I took the Eloquence survey, and ClassicsToday and David Hurwitz show up three times.  Looks like Mr Hurwitz's opinion is considered important by someone.

[KevinP]

Overall, I like Hurwitz. When he's good, he's good; when he's not, whatever. He strikes me less as a professional critic (though he is) and more of a guy at the end of the bar in a pub I might walk into, a guy who seems like a windbag at first but actually turns out to be kind of interesting at times.


I only watch the topics I'm particularly interested in. Consequently, I haven't watched anything by him in quite a while. He's been running on fumes but will likely hit on some new series sooner or later. Now he seems to be throwing topics at the wall to see what sticks.

[Ockeghem]

My observations on Hurwitz:
Overall an engaging presenter and staggeringly erudite when it comes to the volume of music he knows. Can there be anyone alive with more knowledge of classical music recordings? He is particularly useful in exploring more obscure composers. His blind spots are often bizarre (eg he finds the St Matthew Passion boring, thinks Sullivan is the greatest English composer and completely misses the whole point about lieder) but we all have similar aesthetic shortcomings.
I feel his channel would be improved if he allowed more discussion rather than deleting anything which riles him.

[Brahmsian]

My observations on Hurwitz:
Overall an engaging presenter and staggeringly erudite when it comes to the volume of music he knows. Can there be anyone alive with more knowledge of classical music recordings? He is particularly useful in exploring more obscure composers. His blind spots are often bizarre (eg he finds the St Matthew Passion boring, thinks Sullivan is the greatest English composer and completely misses the whole point about lieder) but we all have similar aesthetic shortcomings.
I feel his channel would be improved if he allowed more discussion rather than deleting anything which riles him.

Welcome to GMG!   

[DavidW]

Can there be anyone alive with more knowledge of classical music recordings?

There are a few posters here that probably have.  I'm still often surprised by some of the very deep and broad discussions that happen here.  Welcome!  I hope you enjoy chatting with us.

[timwtheov]

Overall an engaging presenter and staggeringly erudite when it comes to the volume of music he knows. Can there be anyone alive with more knowledge of classical music recordings? He is particularly useful in exploring more obscure composers. His blind spots are often bizarre (eg he finds the St Matthew Passion boring, thinks Sullivan is the greatest English composer and completely misses the whole point about lieder) but we all have similar aesthetic shortcomings.
I feel his channel would be improved if he allowed more discussion rather than deleting anything which riles him.

I tend to agree with this assessment. I'd been a long time reader of ClassicsToday (particularly when it was all free) after reading Beethoven or Bust many years ago. I was therefore used to Hurwitz's preferences (generally fast, intense performances of his favorite romantic, post-romantic, and modernist era works, American orchestras, etc.) and antipathies (slow performances, poor-sounding historical performances, the British music press, Rattle and Norrington, some parts of the historically informed performance world, etc.). However, I mostly love his videos, even when I disagree with his takes (I tend to like Rattle's recordings a lot, for example, and I'm also partial to slow, intense performances a la Celibidache), because I love his irreverence, which doesn't seem to be to everyone's taste on the forum here. He's funny, and thus personable. I also usually like his topics, for being addicted to making playlists, I can't have enough "Fabulous Concert Programs," say, or some of the one-offs like "16 Symphonies after Franck" (or whatever it was called) since he often juxtaposes pieces I'd never link, whicih in turn helps me discover new work.

[Karl Henning]

Now he seems to be throwing topics at the wall to see what sticks.

Not really a growth strategy, is it?

[Karl Henning]

There are a few posters here that probably have.  I'm still often surprised by some of the very deep and broad discussions that happen here.  Welcome!  I hope you enjoy chatting with us.

I was going to say: there may be rather a population of them (I'm not nominating myself) only perhaps they don't elect to post on YouTube.

[DavidW]

I was going to say: there may be rather a population of them (I'm not nominating myself) only perhaps they don't elect to post on YouTube.

Do you remember that poster on CMG that had some crazy # like 20 or 40k cds?  I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few posters here that have 10k+ cds.  One or two might even have that many just in Bach.

[Jo498]

My observations on Hurwitz:
Overall an engaging presenter and staggeringly erudite when it comes to the volume of music he knows. Can there be anyone alive with more knowledge of classical music recordings? He is particularly useful in exploring more obscure composers. His blind spots are often bizarre (eg he finds the St Matthew Passion boring, thinks Sullivan is the greatest English composer and completely misses the whole point about lieder) but we all have similar aesthetic shortcomings.

I don't mind the blind spots in principle but he cannot at the same time claim that with his "reviewer hat" on he can review anything fairly and neutrally and then celebrate his blind spots often by insulting people who disagree (from the Horenstein fans to the Bruckner alternative versions to friends of Lieder or Christians who believe in the crucifixion story).
I have met more knowledgeable people on the internet than Hurwitz. While few to none have his breadth, they'll know more about certain topics (e.g Bach or Italian opera or Wagner or whatever). Nevertheless, I think his commentaries are sometimes impeded by his blind spots.

[Roberto]

My opinion about Mr. Hurwitz: I started to watch his videos maybe 1 and half year ago. I like his style and I think he is funny. He obviously has musical knowledge and I appreciate that. Some of his advice opened new horizons on my musical view. I like his music theory videos it helps me a lot, because I am not musician.
I think the biggest problem with his channel: less would be more. I started to watch all of his videos from te beginning but after a while I gave up. I don't have problem with 40+ min Hurwitz videos but not every day.
I already had 1500+ CD collection when I started to watch his videos and at the beginning I bought CDs based on his proposal. But after 2-3 big disappointments, I became more critical with his proposals.
I usually agree with his opinion about bad performances. I sometime agree with his opinion about period instrument people but not always. I think he is obsessed with this vibrato-thing.
I don't think he really listens to every CD. When he discuss about big boxes, I think he listened to those recordings years ago and, if ever. Or he picks some recordings from that boxes and listens to those again but clearly not all.
Opinion aboud sound quality is highly a matter of taste. He is unreliable for me in this topic also. Sometime I agree with him but sometime I don't.