Klarinet Archive - Posting 000254.txt from 2008/11

From: "Alexander Brash" <brash@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] After Drucker
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:13:33 -0500

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

I think that's a perfectly fair take on the situation. It pretty much
happens in every field too - the stated criteria are often very different
from the actual criteria - and part of the job of a successful person is
the ability to read between the lines and figure out what you need to do
to win. I could certainly accept this being desirable in the long run.

> and certainly there has rarely been definite
> evidence that there is in the audition pool a player who could do the job
> well.

ehhhhhhh.........well maybe my young ears are just not up to par, I'll
certainly grant this is more than possible due to lack of experience. But
given my current ability to discern things, I find this not to be true.

Then I again, I also hate Karl Leister and Sabine Meyer's playing - I
think they're dreadfully boring, so take my opinion for what it's worth to
most people here - approximately 0 :) I can tell you that I do not find
listening to them enjoyable at all, and their playing has almost no
emotional impact on me (emphasis on the ME - I'm not suggesting this is
any kind of universal truth or even good judgment). Maybe I'm stunted,
I'll ask the shrink.

On the other hand, Charlie Neidich or David Krakauer's playing can make me
laugh out loud (in the best possible way), or cry (in the best possible
way), so it goes.

> You're out of your depth.

There's really no better way to get "in your depth" than putting out there
what you know/think to be true, listening to people object, and thinking
through it all as you gain more and more experience. I find this a
better/faster approach than dogmatically listening to my elders and simply
accepting that as truth - I recognize the value of experience and the fact
that the lessons many people learn by correlation probably do have an
analogous causation-explanation that I can understand if I work hard
enough. Then again, I don't really care about ruffling feathers, it works
fine for me - the people who end up not respecting me at the end of the
day tends to work out to the exact set of people whose respect would
concern me. Naturally there are exceptions, but I'd argue that no valid
and meaningful approach to life could leave one without regrets.

On Tue, November 18, 2008 2:48 pm, Tony Pay wrote:
> 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
> --
>
> _________ Tony Pay
> |ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd
> | |ay Oxford OX2 6RE
> tel/fax 01865 553339
> mobile +44(0)7790 532980 tony.p@-----.org
>
>
>
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