- Anthony Tommasini on music memorization; Bill Eddins's response. It'd be nice to get them together to discuss this subject, given that they both have thoughtful and interesting viewpoints.
- Alex Ross on The Non-Classical Music They Made. Read his links (if you can see them). I need to take a look and respond to whatever disingenuous nonsense the Times is spouting.
- Elaine Fine on the musical blogosphere. I don't think Norman Lebrecht is taking over anything, and I encourage not reading the annoying or misinformed.
- Jon Silpayamanant is running more articles in his great series on demographics and the classical audience.
- Sean at Contrapuntalism visits the Faber-Castell factory in Stein, Germany (read the posts that include Stein Way in the post title).
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Reading List
Some articles you might want to look at:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I'm inclined toward Eddins' view. Playing chamber music I find if the score is on the piano--even if I know the piece--my gaze fixates on the page, and I don't make enough eye contact with my partners. The score stops being a useful support and becomes a ball and chain.
About the only time I read Lebrecht is if I happen to come across one of his old posts regarding a subject I'm interested in--I just can't bring myself to be a regular reader of his blog!
Thanks for the, BTW!
You're welcome, Jon. And yeah, re Lebrecht's blog. I read occasionally when there's a pointer to something specific.
I found Eddins' take very puzzling. If what he says is true, why wouldn't it apply equally strongly to chamber music and orchestral work? He's a conductor; if he feels this way, wouldn't it bother him that the orchestra members are looking at their parts and not just at him?
I'm not a musician, but I have acted, mostly in reader's theatre and occasionally on stage, and my take is much more like that of Stephen Hough, whose article is linked to from Tommasini's. Memorization doesn't free me from the text; it chains me to the effort to keep it memorized, and I have nothing left in me to apply artistry with. But standing at a podium with the script, I know the text intimately and what I want to do with it, but having it there provides a secure platform on which I can let myself dance.
My take is that it's a pretty individual thing. I had a terrible time memorizing flute music, and a pretty easy time memorizing piano music.
Eddins has commenting open on his blog, so you could certain discuss the subject with him.
I liked Eddins' article because he pointed out that there might be another reason to memorize besides looking good to the audience.
Lebrecht is good mainly for arguing with. I find.
I find that I have another comment. Eddins' ideas might be achieved by practicing from memory. Using score would then relate only to how bad ones nerves were.
Post a Comment