Klarinet Archive - Posting 000251.txt from 2008/11

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] After Drucker
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:48:34 -0500

On 18 Nov, "Alexander Brash" <brash@-----.edu> wrote:

> Very often, in my opinion, the best player, even the person who plays the
> best behind the screen, on his/her own, in the moment, isn't the one who
> wins. There's a very unfortunate tendency to declare "no winner" in the
> open auditions for these things, and magically end up with some already
> established person magically getting the job.

You see, I'd rather say that this constitutes a 'proper subversion' of a
system that cannot possibly deliver 'what it spozed to'.

It's a long time since I had to do with auditions for a job in an orchestra
in which I played. But I have to say that the standard for auditions for
several other orchestras in which I've been an outside consultant has in
general been pretty low; and certainly there has rarely been definite
evidence that there is in the audition pool a player who could do the job
well.

Of course this may not be true in the great united states of america, but
somehow I doubt it.

What happens there is just that there are 'more competent' bad players.
They're still bad -- but they play the instrument better.

> In some ways, I find the corruption of something which is supposed to be
> equal opportunity a greater evil than simply handing down positions from
> teacher to pupil - at least in the latter paradigm, everyone knows what the
> game is, and no one is pretending it's anything different.

Well, that just goes to show that you -- and your Juilliard friends -- have a
limited understanding of what's required to play well in a Symphony
Orchestra.

And certainly 'simply handing down' doesn't capture what must go on in the
VPO.

You're out of your depth.

Tony
--

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