"People have pointed out evidences of personal feeling in my notices as if they were accusing me of a misdemeanor, not knowing that criticism written without personal feeling is not worth reading. It is the capacity for making good or bad art a personal matter that makes a man a critic." - George Bernard Shaw
I might add, as both a performer and critic, that one also needs to capacity to distinguish between one's personal preferences and artistic merit. There plays, musical works, and performances that I might like while recognizing that they don't have a lot of artistic merit and others that I might recognize as Great Art even if they're not to my taste.
