Comments on: Reviews and the right way of music making

By: Alban

Alban — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:08:04 +0000

Dear Clare,

thanks for your very nice words – glad you felt the freedom I felt 🙂
It is not so much about negotiating but compromising. And like every good compromise one has to be convinced at the end. And since I know that there are many ways which lead to Rome (that’s a German saying; many interpretations possible) I am open to suggestions of conductors. Often conductors agree to what I am trying to do, but then have a hard time to get the orchestra convinced as well – often they don’t have the strenght/stamina/rehearsal time to make certain ideas work, and it is my responsability to give in, since otherwise it would be a disaster…. No, I never regret a performance – I don’t like every single one, but no remorse, because I am always giving it all and trying my best (which sometimes just ain’t enough…)

By: Opera Clare

Opera Clare — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:22:28 +0000

I am from London but was lucky enough to catch this Schumann concert in Berlin and was knocked out by your performance so I share your frustration at the critics. It was a “free” performance – exciting and spontaneous – and I love it when I hear something new in a piece that recordings haven’t given me. I am also a Thielemann fan for the same reason – sometimes his interpretations work – some not – but I always find the musical journey gripping. How do you negotiate the tricky subject of “your” versus “the conductors” interpretation of a piece? Do you find you “give in” to some views and then wished you hadn’t!

By: Alban

Alban — Tue, 01 May 2007 06:55:28 +0000

Thanks Bob, yes, I ignored them, but it felt strange since I need to take any kind of criticism serious in order to see if I can learn from it or not. In this case, it just showed me that critics are not really open to “new” ideas (wasn’t new at all, was just a tiny bit closer to the text than some other performances…). Yes, mannered rubato, that’s what it is, very annoying, because it destroys the pieces, I am afraid. That’s why some people believe the Schumann Concerto isn’t a great piece.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:40:47 +0000

Didn’t see the reviews, but I share your indignation. I just read a short story from “The World of Music According to Starker” in which he tells of a German electrical engineer in Colorado who gave up a career as a concert pianist because he couldn’t abide the ignorant judgements of critics. Consequently he set out to scientifically measure the subjective qualities of music. In this context, Starker explains the distinction between rubato (liberties within the phrase) and agogic (liberties within the measure). Who knew that Starker wrote fiction in his spare time? It reminds me of Berlioz”s Nights with the Opera.

It sounds to me like your critic wanted to hear the kind of mannered rubato that has become traditional in the performance of Chopin. We get such ignorant reviews routinely in Washington, but I would have expected better in Berlin. Ignore them.