Word: downesian
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...technical knowledge of music. It requires translating a detailed, subjective impression into comprehensible terms. Thomson is a good critic and a sound musician. More important, he expresses himself pungently and clearly. He is particularly adept at the critics' most difficult task--describing sound. Only occasionally does he lapse into Downesian superlatives or vague adjectives like "good" and "adequate." His criticism of performance is objective and incisive; his evaluation and exposition of form is wonderfully clear. Thomson's brightness and wit ("Wagner's musical dramas are conceived for a theater of whales") make him very pleasant reading for the layman...
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