Virgil Thomson

Gertrude Stein wrote the nonsensical if occasionally droll libretto in 1929; Virgil Thomson penned the score, and got it produced in 1934.

Souvenirs From Paris David Littlejohn 2011

The composer and critic Virgil Thomson summed up Gershwin's only more-or-less traditional opera with his usual pith, calling it an interesting example of what can be done by talent in spite of a bad set up.

Book review: 'George Gershwin,' a new biography by Larry Starr 2011

Virgil Thomson called it "gefilte variations," a snide allusion to gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish foodstuff.

Jenna Weissman Joselit: What Is Jewish Culture? Jenna Weissman Joselit 2012

The classical composer Virgil Thomson paid the rent between 1940 and 1954 by moonlighting as the chief music critic of the New York Herald Tribune.

How Two Great Critics Compromised Their Posthumous Reputations Terry Teachout 2011

Virgil Thomson called it "gefilte variations," a snide allusion to gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish foodstuff.

Jenna Weissman Joselit: What Is Jewish Culture? Jenna Weissman Joselit 2012

Virgil Thomson called it "gefilte variations," a snide allusion to gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish foodstuff.

Jenna Weissman Joselit: What Is Jewish Culture? Jenna Weissman Joselit 2012

Virgil Thomson called it "gefilte variations," a snide allusion to gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish foodstuff.

Jenna Weissman Joselit: What Is Jewish Culture? Jenna Weissman Joselit 2012

Virgil Thomson called it "gefilte variations," a snide allusion to gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish foodstuff.

Jenna Weissman Joselit: What Is Jewish Culture? Jenna Weissman Joselit 2012

Virgil Thomson called it "gefilte variations," a snide allusion to gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish foodstuff.

Jenna Weissman Joselit: What Is Jewish Culture? Jenna Weissman Joselit 2012

Bernard Gotfryd/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Virgil Thomson around 1965 In 1940 there were eight daily newspapers in New York, most of which employed full-time classical-music critics.

How Two Great Critics Compromised Their Posthumous Reputations Terry Teachout 2011