Dispatched from the Audition Room (mit Bolzano auch dabei) After the third day of piano auditions at New England Conservatory, I attended an evening recital given at the school by one of my piano faculty colleagues. Backstage, he said that while he was playing he imagined my stern voice from the audition room. Making a fairly unpleasant face, he told me, "You know when you say, 'Mmmmm, not really good...'" The cold fact is that from about … [Read more...]
Faulty
In recent reviews, I've read about the structural shortcomings of Robert Schumann's Humoreske and the emotional emptiness of Pierre Boulez's piano sonatas. When I proposed a complete performance of Messiaen's Catalog of the Birds in Boston some colleagues told me it wasn't good music. Let's be cautious about reaching such judgments. Just because we have not yet heard (or given) a performance that makes sense of a scripted piece -- I don't … [Read more...]
Quality Control
Classical music culture is permeated with judgment making. Maybe it's necessary? Maybe it suits us? We audition musicians to discover who will play better in an orchestra, or to find out which students can develop best in a school. We're always grading and sorting. Critics and conductors announce what pieces are better than other pieces. (Recently, I read about Jean Sibelius's "best" symphony.) It's dangerous. And not because we don't want … [Read more...]