Thoughts for Monday

Here are three recent articles that have gotten me thinking, on three very different subjects.

On criticism, and its perceived threat: on ARTicles, the blog of the National Arts Journalism Program, Glenn Kenny wonders why people so often take criticism as an attempt to force them to think in certain ways -- a hostile attack -- rather than a starting point for discussion. More on this later.

On getting teenagers to like classical music: a personal narrative from the composer Daniel Felsenfeld on the New York Times's "Opinionator" blog, which challenges some common assumptions about the role of music education versus, well, the music itself.

On the recession, and dwindling interest in traditional arts organizations, and whether institutions can survive in this new landscape: Mark Stryker, in the Detroit Free Press, writes a sobering case study of his city's struggles.