Originally Posted by Smithi20

Being involved in one extreme of the music and performance debate, I thought I´d better chip in!

Presently specialising in free improvisation, this is an area of music where there can be no division between the composer and the musician, as they are one entity in real time. Therefore the player´s performance stands or falls on the quality of their own creativity, and the relationship with the audience.

The other extreme, I suppose, would be to test the integrity of a composed piece by experiencing a performance that may be flawed but enthusiastic! Does it´s mastery and beauty still shine through? Often, yes.

And then there´s everything in between... people like Ton Koopman who´ve grabbed Baroque music by the balls and breathed new life into the repertoire by redressing the balance towards the virtuoso being idiomatic improviser. Even earlier in the century, Casals recording the Bach suites with a freshness and danger that almost gives us the impression that he was creating them himself on the spot! And then there´s Glenn Gould....

Beethoven should scare the hell out of us, Mahler should physically move inner organs, Shostakovich should bend our brains, Ian should stop generalising now!

Maybe part of the star quality of the virtuosos and conductors who feel the music so deeply is that it does bend, terrify, depress and heighten their other emotions. And that´s what communicates so well to an audience, however difficult or conventional the music is. I´m all for one believing that after the initial shock of atonality, audiences zone in on the area that the music is in, and will go along for the ride, as long as it´s worth it.

Also recording has a lot to do with having to "make your mark", I think. Why record the Hummel after Maurice and Wynton? It´s a daunting qustion for any would-be soloist... so they have to have a different spin, marketing etc, or find a niche, like Crispian, or encourage new compositions (not all of which will be great) like Hakan, it´s fair to say I subscribe to both the latter!