The role of perfection in classical music
Posted by: mikeeschman on 28 March 2009
When you first develop an interest in classical music, and begin the search for the music that speaks to your soul, one of the issues that is brought into stark relief is the issue of performance practice. If a performer's execution is less than perfect, but his conception of the piece is illuminating, how does that affect the value and the meaning of the work itself?
In other types of music, this issue is generally not paramount, because performers of other musics typically do not develop the range of technical mastery that is typical of classical musicians.
But it is a central issue in performances of classical music, precisely because some performers have literally achieved perfection. In achieving that perfection, have these performers diluted, distorted or otherwise damaged the musical meaning of what they play?
The first thing that occurs to me is that a player who plays perfectly has the option of playing any music they like, any way they see fit, whereas a player with technical deficiencies must craft an interpretation with his deficiencies in mind, so that his flaws inflict the least amount of damage to the message of the music. The performance habits of all musicians quickly become second nature, and stamp there character on every performance.
As a listener, i am excited to hear a flawless performance, in part because perfection is an exciting concept that is rarely encountered in human life. I am stunned and elevated to a high state of hopefulness and joy at the appearance of the pristine and flawless.
If I have a central belief that colors and guides every one of my listening sessions it is this : a good performance stands outside time and space in its own sphere of influence, and puts your being in direct spiritual contact with the composer at the moment of creation, with the performer acting as the medium that establishes and allows this communication.
Technical flaws stain that communication. If you attended a performance of Hamlet, and the actor portraying Hamlet spoke with a lisp, you might conclude that the lisp added to the power and the emotion of his performance. If you did, i would call that a wrong-headed idea. For me, clarity in speech is central to the character of Hamlet. It is important for me to hear what Hamlet says.
One of the things that happens when you hear a perfect performance is that your idea of what is possible emotionally in that piece of music is expanded. Broad, dramatic strokes that had moved may seem trite and overblown in the light of perfection. Nuance and subtlety can achieve a finer level of graduation, and stand out clear and undistorted in the perfect performance. This is simply not so otherwise.
For these reasons, the recordings that I cherish most are the perfect performances. Anytime I want to hear a flawed reading, it is available to me. I want to taste, and bask in the presence of the perfect while I can. These perfect performers have elevated their understanding and emotion to a higher plane.
It takes everything to the next level.
Long live perfection :-)
In other types of music, this issue is generally not paramount, because performers of other musics typically do not develop the range of technical mastery that is typical of classical musicians.
But it is a central issue in performances of classical music, precisely because some performers have literally achieved perfection. In achieving that perfection, have these performers diluted, distorted or otherwise damaged the musical meaning of what they play?
The first thing that occurs to me is that a player who plays perfectly has the option of playing any music they like, any way they see fit, whereas a player with technical deficiencies must craft an interpretation with his deficiencies in mind, so that his flaws inflict the least amount of damage to the message of the music. The performance habits of all musicians quickly become second nature, and stamp there character on every performance.
As a listener, i am excited to hear a flawless performance, in part because perfection is an exciting concept that is rarely encountered in human life. I am stunned and elevated to a high state of hopefulness and joy at the appearance of the pristine and flawless.
If I have a central belief that colors and guides every one of my listening sessions it is this : a good performance stands outside time and space in its own sphere of influence, and puts your being in direct spiritual contact with the composer at the moment of creation, with the performer acting as the medium that establishes and allows this communication.
Technical flaws stain that communication. If you attended a performance of Hamlet, and the actor portraying Hamlet spoke with a lisp, you might conclude that the lisp added to the power and the emotion of his performance. If you did, i would call that a wrong-headed idea. For me, clarity in speech is central to the character of Hamlet. It is important for me to hear what Hamlet says.
One of the things that happens when you hear a perfect performance is that your idea of what is possible emotionally in that piece of music is expanded. Broad, dramatic strokes that had moved may seem trite and overblown in the light of perfection. Nuance and subtlety can achieve a finer level of graduation, and stand out clear and undistorted in the perfect performance. This is simply not so otherwise.
For these reasons, the recordings that I cherish most are the perfect performances. Anytime I want to hear a flawed reading, it is available to me. I want to taste, and bask in the presence of the perfect while I can. These perfect performers have elevated their understanding and emotion to a higher plane.
It takes everything to the next level.
Long live perfection :-)
Here you go , enjoy. ( Mike , you might want to listen to this while standing in a sandbox 
and let me know if you want me to add any 'extra' notes anywhere in it, I can add as many as I want....)
I am aware that it gets abrasive and heavy after about the ten minute mark but I will fix that later, I need a break.
Just click download or listen direct on the site. it is only an mp3@320, but if anyone actually likes this , I can post a lossless version
Enjoy, or not.....
http://www.4shared.com/file/95879484/f74b41c3/Beethoveen_Vs_Joaquin.html
and let me know if you want me to add any 'extra' notes anywhere in it, I can add as many as I want....)I am aware that it gets abrasive and heavy after about the ten minute mark but I will fix that later, I need a break.
Just click download or listen direct on the site. it is only an mp3@320, but if anyone actually likes this , I can post a lossless version
Enjoy, or not.....
http://www.4shared.com/file/95879484/f74b41c3/Beethoveen_Vs_Joaquin.html
quote:Originally posted by haroldbudd:
Here you go , enjoy. ( Mike , you might want to listen to this while standing in a sandbox
Enjoy, or not.....
that was awful, but i laughed my ass off at the sentiment behind it. you know i love that music and you did this ...
when i was about 10, i saw a sailor on the ed sullivan show, and he could whistle all the big opera arias. and he did, right on our tv!
this is not quite up to that standard yet, but keep up the good work :-)
can you play that on a real piano?
i want to hear some of your music.
"that was awful, but i laughed my ass off at the sentiment behind it. you know i love that music and you did this ..."
Thanx Mike ! I knew you would love it heehee . I meant no harm to the music you love, just having fun and I thought this thread could use some fun.
"when i was about 10, i saw a sailor on the ed sullivan show, and he could whistle all the big opera arias. and he did, right on our tv!
this is not quite up to that standard yet, but keep up the good work :-)
Well, I was wearing a long silver sparkly cape when I was working on it.....for all of an hour... for my Paganini re-working I will spend a few more hours and put some effort into it - I know you are dying to hear it
cheers
( after all those notes, I am going to listen to some minimal modern piano.... )
Thanx Mike ! I knew you would love it heehee . I meant no harm to the music you love, just having fun and I thought this thread could use some fun.
"when i was about 10, i saw a sailor on the ed sullivan show, and he could whistle all the big opera arias. and he did, right on our tv!
this is not quite up to that standard yet, but keep up the good work :-)
Well, I was wearing a long silver sparkly cape when I was working on it.....for all of an hour... for my Paganini re-working I will spend a few more hours and put some effort into it - I know you are dying to hear it
cheers
( after all those notes, I am going to listen to some minimal modern piano.... )
quote:Originally posted by haroldbudd:
just having fun and I thought this thread could use some fun.
Well, I was wearing a long silver sparkly cape when I was working on it.....for all of an hour... for my Paganini re-working I will spend a few more hours and put some effort into it - I know you are dying to hear it
cheers
it was fun. i am still smiling :-) can't wait to hear the paganini!
mike eschman
quote:Originally posted by mikeeschman:
can you play that on a real piano?
i want to hear some of your music.
If I were to practice for the better part of a decade, I could perhaps play it badly. I am on the electronic side of things. I often wonder what Ludwig and all those guys would have created with todays " Instruments " I would love to have Stravinsky sit in my studio or use my laptop as i just did, the possibilities would be endless. I'm sure it would be a "Riot"
I don't think you would like my music at all, but I will share some soon, freely, with everyone , but only when I myself am satisfied with it.
regards
HaHa Thanx Mike, that is very kind.
I am working on the Paganini, and it's great because I started it as a joke ( along with that last Beethoven sonic monstrosity ) but it has provided me with an opportunity to try some new things with my machines that I would not have thought of if I was to work on something else.
I have the score and all the parts of the arrangement laid out on the "grid" so to speak, but am deciding between having it played by 11 glockenspiels inside Grand Central Station, or a marching band underwater.
I will try not to have it sound like Wendy/Walter Carlos on a bad day like the last one
I will post back in a while ( " Switched On Paganini " it is tonight then.......)
regards
I am working on the Paganini, and it's great because I started it as a joke ( along with that last Beethoven sonic monstrosity ) but it has provided me with an opportunity to try some new things with my machines that I would not have thought of if I was to work on something else.
I have the score and all the parts of the arrangement laid out on the "grid" so to speak, but am deciding between having it played by 11 glockenspiels inside Grand Central Station, or a marching band underwater.
I will try not to have it sound like Wendy/Walter Carlos on a bad day like the last one
I will post back in a while ( " Switched On Paganini " it is tonight then.......)
regards
Hello
" Harold Budd's electronic music " just wanted to point out that I am not the real Harold Budd. I just quickly picked that as my forum name when I joined thinking it would be a bit obscure, but it turns out that there are some members who are familiar with his work so I will get around to changing it soon.
" no electronic instrument can accurately reproduce the articulation of an acoustic instrument such as a piano."
This is true , although programs such as " Pianoteq " are coming incredibly close. Just take a look at the models available for anyone in the following link. ( there are sound samples under each )
http://www.pianoteq.com/free_addons
I am sure Mike that you are familiar with many of these instruments and am sure you can understand that although they are at the end of the day, not the real thing, it is fantastic that anyone can come close to them in their own homes. A few years ago, if someone wanted to put a 1697 Grimaldi on a track .... well good luck finding one let alone being able to use it for a few hours ! Right now there are young serious students of classical music around the world flipping through presets of ancient rare instruments trying to figure out if the sound works in their arrangements, in their sequencers, maybe on a laptop on a train even on the way to visit their parents. This is fantastic. Classical and Electronic can indeed go hand in hand and benefit from each-other.
( on the flip-side however, there may be an evil Spaniard somewhere de-constructing a Paganini arrangement of a Liszt piece and having it performed by 12 Estonian children with glockenspiels and one large man with a tympani in an empty subway station in Detroit........ )
Oh, and no acoustic instrument can accurately reproduce the articulation and sound of an electronic instrument
regards
joaquin
" Harold Budd's electronic music " just wanted to point out that I am not the real Harold Budd. I just quickly picked that as my forum name when I joined thinking it would be a bit obscure, but it turns out that there are some members who are familiar with his work so I will get around to changing it soon.
" no electronic instrument can accurately reproduce the articulation of an acoustic instrument such as a piano."
This is true , although programs such as " Pianoteq " are coming incredibly close. Just take a look at the models available for anyone in the following link. ( there are sound samples under each )
http://www.pianoteq.com/free_addons
I am sure Mike that you are familiar with many of these instruments and am sure you can understand that although they are at the end of the day, not the real thing, it is fantastic that anyone can come close to them in their own homes. A few years ago, if someone wanted to put a 1697 Grimaldi on a track .... well good luck finding one let alone being able to use it for a few hours ! Right now there are young serious students of classical music around the world flipping through presets of ancient rare instruments trying to figure out if the sound works in their arrangements, in their sequencers, maybe on a laptop on a train even on the way to visit their parents. This is fantastic. Classical and Electronic can indeed go hand in hand and benefit from each-other.
( on the flip-side however, there may be an evil Spaniard somewhere de-constructing a Paganini arrangement of a Liszt piece and having it performed by 12 Estonian children with glockenspiels and one large man with a tympani in an empty subway station in Detroit........
)Oh, and no acoustic instrument can accurately reproduce the articulation and sound of an electronic instrument
regards
joaquin
quote:Originally posted by haroldbudd:
Hello
" no electronic instrument can accurately reproduce the articulation of an acoustic instrument such as a piano."
This is true , although programs such as " Pianoteq " are coming incredibly close.
I am sure Mike that you are familiar with many of these instruments and am sure you can understand that although they are at the end of the day, not the real thing, it is fantastic that anyone can come close to them in their own homes. ( on the flip-side however, there may be an evil Spaniard somewhere de-constructing a Paganini arrangement of a Liszt piece and having it performed by 12 Estonian children with glockenspiels and one large man with a tympani in an empty subway station in Detroit........
Oh, and no acoustic instrument can accurately reproduce the articulation and sound of an electronic instrument
regards
joaquin
hey joaquin, my ears are open and my curiosity is up.
go ahead and teach me something :-)