“Great critics are rare birds; rare birds need a welcoming aviary and the zookeepers are not on the lookout for such special and specialist breeds of plumage any more. Over time, the priorities have shifted towards ‘personality’ writers with no background in their subject. The long, slow haul of a career as a critic, with its period of apprenticeship, dedication and accumulation of wisdom and experience – as exemplified by Andrew Porter – is suddenly becoming a thing of the past.”