Critic Allan Kozinn’s reassignment roils the music community

The reassignment of a longtime New York Times classical music critic is causing quite a kerfuffle, with supporters of Allan Kozinn circulating a petition calling for his reinstatement. (A staffer at the Times since 1991, Kozinn has been taken off the music beat and assigned to general cultural reporting.) Alex Ross, the classical music critic for The New Yorker, wrote on his blog that that he is “baffled and saddened” by the Times’ decision. The Times has not commented on the reason for the reassignment, and Kozinn has been mostly mum. But the veteran journalist, who hailed the Tanglewood Music Center’s Festival of Contemporary Music in a recent critic’s notebook, did give a statement to JimRomenesko.com. “Critics don’t generally do what we do in order to be liked or make friends, and I know that things I’ve written have angered people over the years — which is what makes the amount and vehemence of the response — on blogs, Facebook and now the petition — all the more astonishing. It’s a little like being in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ without having to hang out with Clarence.”