tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post4022615254255849279..comments2024-03-18T14:05:44.909-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Friday MiscellaneaBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-4379019675177024712015-12-05T08:25:40.160-06:002015-12-05T08:25:40.160-06:00I was using the word "Machiavellian" lar...I was using the word "Machiavellian" largely in jest! Yes, you are quite right, contrasting different things is an important part of teaching and of how I work on the blog. Things that are hard to describe are often better shown.<br /><br />There are at least two kinds of teachers: one kind teaches students to do what they do, i.e., apparently Lang Lang. The other kind tries to help the student discover what they should do. I always taught my students to ask themselves questions and was delightfully rewarded once when I was rehearsing a guitar ensemble piece and when the leader of the ensemble suggested doing a bit ritard in one place they all said "but why?"Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-48308508620679619162015-12-05T00:24:35.987-06:002015-12-05T00:24:35.987-06:00Machiavellian?! As a teacher I know that when you&...Machiavellian?! As a teacher I know that when you're trying to make a point there's nothing like contrast. I thought that's what you were doing. Maybe these exuberant musicians think that they are simply giving the audience what they expect. I saw a short clip of Lang Lang teaching children and he kept insisting that this one little boy lift his left hand in the air the way he does. I wondered about it at the time. I had a few piano lessons as a child and we never got as far as levitating hands. I thought maybe it was an advanced technique. Who knows, maybe one of his teachers in China taught him that. Wouldn't it be great if we could ask him? Have a back and forth on his style? Do you think that these really popular musicians have time to read their reviews?Christine Lacroixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02006109075551438090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-90228921544974841522015-12-04T20:29:51.281-06:002015-12-04T20:29:51.281-06:00You give me too much credit for Machiavellian mani...You give me too much credit for Machiavellian manipulation. No, it was rather by chance that these two pianists (plus Sokolov) appeared together in the miscellanea. But it is interesting to consider them side by side.<br /><br />When I saw the Slipped Disc piece, the later comments weren't there yet, including from the guitarist. I think that those sterile, predictable debates can be avoided by being more specific and outlining exactly why you thought what you did about a performance. Otherwise, anytime you are critical, people tend to say you are jealous. That is often not the case. And no, I am not familiar with that guitarist.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-78474996503273149452015-12-04T14:21:43.322-06:002015-12-04T14:21:43.322-06:00David I don't think that 'The coincident a...David I don't think that 'The coincident appearance of items related to LL and RL in the same Friday Miscellanea...' was 'coincident' at all! Am I right Bryan?<br />I enjoyed the comments under the Slipped Disc article. Bryan do you know the classical guitarist who left a comment under the article and was roundly insulted for defending Lang Lang? Christine Lacroixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02006109075551438090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-12884501238025164052015-12-04T14:04:31.712-06:002015-12-04T14:04:31.712-06:00Yes, perhaps it is simply a case of let a hundred ...Yes, perhaps it is simply a case of let a hundred flowers bloom. But consider how likely it is that someone of Radu Lupu's temperament would be able to carve out a niche for himself in the current musical environment. It is only the frenetic, publicity-seeking Lang Langs that seem to be making an impression. When the generation of Radu Lupu and Grigory Sokolov has gone, will we still have artists of their caliber? Actually, I think we will, because I can think of at least one younger artist that has that kind of grace and depth and that is Hilary Hahn and I am sure there are others.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-25133055241843601282015-12-04T11:22:21.134-06:002015-12-04T11:22:21.134-06:00Bryan, thanks for another installment of thought p...Bryan, thanks for another installment of thought provoking ideas, commentary and links. The coincident appearance of items related to LL and RL in the same Friday Miscellanea presents an interesting window on classical music and its presentation and consumption today. It would seem an almost impossible task to find two world class pianists active at the same time who are so widely removed in their musical service to the world. Does the source of the differences lie in the age difference between the performers? If maturity is the key, the passage of time should mellow out the younger man and give him more insight and sensitivity to the music. Is the difference in the audience? (LL: the frenetic world of the social media crowd/ RL: the unhurried, thoughtful European). I don't have the answer. In today's world, the PC approach would be to say that it serves the greater good to have both approaches. I know which one I personally identify with and prefer. I suspect it will be a long time before we hear LL produce music that can honestly be called "practically incorporeal. Its material is transparent. It is sonorous air. It is almost Nature itself."Davidnoreply@blogger.com