Even Beethoven got bad reviews. John Malkovich reads them aloud as 'The Music Critic'

John Malkovich says theater is like surfing. Actors might think they are the wave — but they're not: "The wave is created by the collision between the material and the public. You ride the wave or you don't." Malkovich is pictured above in The Music Critic. (Julia Wesely/Aleksey Igudesman)

At this point, actor John Malkovich is probably best known for, well, being John Malkovich. But in a new live stage show, Malkovich transforms into some of the meanest music critics in history. NPR sat down with Malkovich and his co-conspirator, violinist and comedian Aleksey Igudesman, before their U.S. tour.

The Music Critic pairs great classical music with eye-wateringly snarky reviews from the time the music was written — rendered in John Malkovich's singular voice.