by Paul J. Pelkonen
New York Times writer Allan Kozinn. Photo from his Facebook page.
In a fast-breaking story on Norman Lebrecht's blog Slipped Disc, it appears that respected New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn has been "demoted" to the post of "cultural reporter."Full details are available on Mr. Lebrecht's site.
The story was leaked to Slipped Disc by an anonymous source--not by Mr. Kozinn. (I found out about it through the magic of Facebook.)
According to the article, the decision is related to internal office politics in the Times' classical music department, which is overseen by classical music editor James Oestreich.
The Times is the only New York newspaper to maintain full and almost daily classical music coverage.
Mr. Kozinn started writing for the Times in 1977, and has been on staff since 1991. In that time he has written over 6000 articles, at an astonishing clip of 250 pieces per year.
He is one of the leading lights of the Times' music desk, an expert on contemporary music who brings a sharp pen and a fair view to reviews of classical and contemporary music. of a best-selling book on The Beatles--a book that I read in grad school and influenced how I listened to music.
On a personal note, Mr. Kozinn is a colleague that I have the greatest respect for and someone whom I'm always glad to see at concerts. It is my hope that this decision will be reversed and that I'll continue to see Mr. Kozinn's friendly presence at performances in and around New York City.
