tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2275507244877401938.post5563720529861582543..comments2023-10-16T11:33:15.900-05:00Comments on Piano Posts: MusicianshipChris Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13383490294861071725noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2275507244877401938.post-8492951609354582602009-05-13T16:15:00.000-05:002009-05-13T16:15:00.000-05:00Hmmm... yes and no.
Let's start with the 'yes'. I...Hmmm... yes and no.<br /><br />Let's start with the 'yes'. It is good to 'connect' with your audience at some primary and conscious level. It is desirable even. But I feel sometimes that it reveals an imbalance on the part of the musician(s). That is, they give too much, or go over the top in trying to establish that 'connection'. That is where the 'no' comes in.<br /><br />There are artists who are like radio stations: some come to you (metaphorically speaking) whereas wit others you have to travel to them (same trope). The former are the commercial radio stations, the latter are the niche ones. I find myself more comfortable listening to the latter than the former even if sometimes I find tuning the dial of my radio to a commercial broadcaster. Now, let's get back to your student(s). You can be skillful enough to churn out Chopin's 'Revolutionary' but unless you know, or imagine, actually make that capital, IMAGINE, what it's like to witness your country being invaded and unable to come to its rescue your etude will be played by numbers and will be applauded by the musicianship that you displayed but not by what you felt. An artist's inner circle is, in my opinion, the starting point for any execution, be it pianist, dancer or actor. so the student who answered:"Knowing how to get what you want out of a piece of music and then connecting other people to it." is actually aiming to manipulate the audience's emotions. But that will happen regardless. As Lawrence Olivier famously told Dustin Hoffman on the set of 'Marathon Man' when the latter was doing laps around the building trying to get into character: 'Just act, my boy, just act'.<br /><br />This was a great article, by the way and I'll keep visiting you. I love the piano, the sound of it, the performers, the compositions, the array of sounds you can produce by just combining the right number of blacks and whites. And you write with so much passion that I will be popping by regularly. How I wish that this type of debate had a more public platform :-)!<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2275507244877401938.post-52244249399306446362009-05-13T07:47:00.000-05:002009-05-13T07:47:00.000-05:00The idea of connection is paramount to me, & I...The idea of connection is paramount to me, & I think of the connection on an emotional level. This is an interesting question to ponder.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.com