Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Thought for the Day

If the music is being performed wrong – and noone [else] in the room cares . . . 

Is it still wrong?



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, please. Let's not forget that music is not to be performed for the cognescenti. Musicians don't go to concerts to enjoy the music, they go to "keep score." In the same way, the hours we performers spend studying music, so that even the minutest details of the composer's intention come across, are not for the benefit of those reading the score.

I firmly disapprove of the idea that audiences need to be condescended to, or that listeners can't tell the difference between a performance by a Pollini and a Pee-Wee Herman unless they've gotten a doctorate in music. Some of my harshest critics are friends of mine who know nothing about music, but do know music, when they hear it.

On the other hand, it really bugs me when I hear "Voi che sapete" played legato, which is all too often.

~JA

Billie Whittaker said...

The source of this particular post was from a random moment I had in a (very casual) performance, when noone in the room but me knew how the piece was supposed to go . . . and I was kind of amused. The audience loved the performance, though. :)