[ATTENDED: April 17, 2026] John Malkovich in The Music Critic Created and Conceived by Aleksey Igudesman
Are you kidding me? John Malkovich in Princeton? Of course I’m going.
I had no idea what this show was about, but John Malkovich was going to be starring in it, 30 minutes from my house! SO I grabbed us tickets.
So what is this exactly? Well, it’s kind of a comic musical piece. But it’s not exactly funny and it’s more musical. Basically, a string quartet (and piano) plays some beautiful music and then John Malkovich tears it apart using actual quotes from critics at the time. The criticism back then are brutal and, consequentially quite funny, especially when said to the performers directly.
Igudesman wrote this piece which includes some famous musical pieces (by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev, Ysaye, Kancheli, and Piazzolla) as well as one of his own.
Aleksey Igudesman has created a sardonic mix of the most evil music critiques of the last centuries written about some of the greatest works of music.
I didn’t know Aleksey Igudesman, but he performed with the show and his violin playing was terrific. I have no idea if this show was written with Malkovich in mind (I assume so, see the end). But Malkovich luxuriates in the role of the evil critic who believes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev and the likes to be weary and dreary: “Schumann fancies himself a “composer”, while Brahms is a “giftless bastard” and Claude Debussy is simply ugly.”
Malkovich sat for much of the performance, listening to the music. And then he would recite the scathing reviews. By the middle of the show, the musicians started to argue back. Especially pianist Hyung-ki Joo who directly addresses the critic and at one point even storms off. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 