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 :-)
Well I just played back the 'Paganini', and it was lovely 
regards,
mat
regards,
mat
Gracias
Mike, your words are more than kind. I am not sure when I will be in your neck of the swamps, but I will certainly let you know, your invitation is fantastic and I offer the exact same back to you and your wife. I am in the very middle of a move to Berlin ( farewell CN Tower .... hello ummm ...Wall ), I have a great music opportunity there, and Berlin is to electronic music what Vienna was to .... well, you know. I may not do much posting for a while as the next few months are going to be a bit intense, but I will share any new sonic experiments , as long as they are fun and/or interesting. Now, back to some technical stuff, take a look at this this window from my music program, logic Pro 8 (Studio)
Now, before I push the " Baroque 3/5-adaptive Hermode Tuning " button at the bottom, should I dress up like Luis IV ? or Alfonso The Wise ?
More importantly , and second question, ... how many Italian pianists could Rodrigo fend off in a good old fashioned bar brawl ?
Cheers, and good luck quitting smoking, I am with you on that one from the 7th of April.
Mat, thank you. A few years ago I would have considered it an insult if anyone described anything I did musically as " Lovely ", but that was before I discovered that there are actually no sharps in the key of " C "
all the best,
j
Mike, your words are more than kind. I am not sure when I will be in your neck of the swamps, but I will certainly let you know, your invitation is fantastic and I offer the exact same back to you and your wife. I am in the very middle of a move to Berlin ( farewell CN Tower .... hello ummm ...Wall ), I have a great music opportunity there, and Berlin is to electronic music what Vienna was to .... well, you know. I may not do much posting for a while as the next few months are going to be a bit intense, but I will share any new sonic experiments , as long as they are fun and/or interesting. Now, back to some technical stuff, take a look at this this window from my music program, logic Pro 8 (Studio)
Now, before I push the " Baroque 3/5-adaptive Hermode Tuning " button at the bottom, should I dress up like Luis IV ? or Alfonso The Wise ?
More importantly , and second question, ... how many Italian pianists could Rodrigo fend off in a good old fashioned bar brawl ?
Cheers, and good luck quitting smoking, I am with you on that one from the 7th of April.
Mat, thank you. A few years ago I would have considered it an insult if anyone described anything I did musically as " Lovely ", but that was before I discovered that there are actually no sharps in the key of " C "
all the best,
j
quote:Originally posted by mikeeschman:
the perfect way to close out this thread is with a definition of perfection, which i feel demonstrates the correctness of what i said in the opening post : (from wikipedia)
The oldest definition of "perfection", fairly precise and distinguishing the shades of the concept, goes back to Aristotle. In Book Delta of the Metaphysics, he distinguishes three meanings of the term, or rather three shades of one meaning, but in any case three different concepts. That is perfect:
1. which is complete — which contains all the requisite parts;
2. which is so good that nothing of the kind could be better;
3. which has attained its purpose.
pollini in the last three beethoven sonatas meets all three shadings of the meaning of perfection stated here, thus he has achieved a state of perfection in these performances :-)
Sorry Mike, I did not realize that you had posted a close out as I was typing a short response to Mat. There is a pop album which I think meets the 3 meanings of perfection you mention, but the interesting thing is the people who made it think the opposite . They think it is very flawed and did not even enjoy making it much. The expression, " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" comes to mind. Perhaps it can also be said " Beauty is in the EAR of the beholder ", when it comes to music. Who knows, maybe Pollini himself thinks, "oh, should have done that note like this or that..... "
Now, how about starting a thread , " The role of Imperfection in Classical music "
regards
quote:Originally posted by 'haroldbudd':
Now, how about starting a thread , " The role of Imperfection in Classical music "
regards
that is a thread for someone else to start.
this thread doesn't have to be closed out. i just thought everyone had walked away from it.
from what i've read, pollini was satisfied with the performances i've been talking about.
the pop album you are talking about does not meet the definition unless it is complete, achieves its stated purpose and could not possibly be better. if it is all these things and the band is still upset, they think it could possibly be better, which fails the test of the definition.
Eureka ! ( well, maybe ... )
I think I have just found something very interesting that may be of relevance to all of this.
I have just finished reading the surprisingly in-depth and detailed explanation on the many different types of " Tuning " in the massive manual for my recording software. There are many types of tuning ( equal Temperament, Hermode, Fixed etc. ) and many many variables within those. The interesting bit is that none are absolutely perfect, and this can be audible, to a trained ear, when playing complex chord clusters and the like. Some types of tuning are better for certain types of music, but none absolutely perfect.
So, how can any music be absolutely perfect when the tuning of the instruments themselves is not perfect ? This is not even considering the natural de-tuning of the instrument which occurs , although very minutely, over the course of a performance.
I have actually learned a lot because of this thread .... cool !
I think I have just found something very interesting that may be of relevance to all of this.
I have just finished reading the surprisingly in-depth and detailed explanation on the many different types of " Tuning " in the massive manual for my recording software. There are many types of tuning ( equal Temperament, Hermode, Fixed etc. ) and many many variables within those. The interesting bit is that none are absolutely perfect, and this can be audible, to a trained ear, when playing complex chord clusters and the like. Some types of tuning are better for certain types of music, but none absolutely perfect.
So, how can any music be absolutely perfect when the tuning of the instruments themselves is not perfect ? This is not even considering the natural de-tuning of the instrument which occurs , although very minutely, over the course of a performance.
I have actually learned a lot because of this thread .... cool !