Re: [ARSCLIST] Cow Cow 's return?

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 9 Jun 2005, George Brock-Nannestad wrote:

> From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad

> The only sad side effect of such research is that the magic disappears, and
> in particular if precise goals are set for a good-sounding and selling manner
> of performance, and if training in conservatories aim for just that by
> technical feedback.

For me, the sad point is that this I believe this is already the case. As
a friend (like myself, an obsessive record collector) said, many years
ago, the recording has ruined art music. His point being, and one reflected in
several books of late (see also a recent New Yorker article by Alex Ross),
that recordings establish a norm which becomes the goal for
performers...which is why I treasure the live performances of the
past. Even today, or so it seems to me, live performances strive to
"sound like the recording." Humanity in performance, both recorded and in
concert, seems to have become second to accuracy in articulation.

In an odd way, it seems funny to me that there is such interest in
resurrecting performances of the past...performances that are likely
to place the emphasis on humanity over accuracy.

Karl