The Critics

The fading clout of the scholarly connoisseur

Does quality matter today when considering art?

Some composers are rightly obscure

There is a place for marginal composers — it’s on the margins

Giant is electrifying and unmissable

It is a play of nuance and three dimensions, not agitprop

Lady Gaga’s new album is a blast

Until now, she’s never been as much fun as she was in the noughties

Domesticating Wagner

A new production of Die Walküre is at odds with its music

The Merry Widow’s peak operetta

Who should we blame for art admired by monsters?

Painters, legacies and lawyers

Money turns art, and the control of art, febrile

Remembering my old pal, “Peebs”

Andy Peebles had a broader hinterland than one might expect from a DJ

My Master Builder is poorly constructed

An overwrought, undercooked relationship drama with wince-making dialogue

Family matters

Jephtha, Il Pomo d’Oro, Barbican