The Beauty of Struggle

[opus10no2]

One of the reasons the art of the virtuoso appeals to me so much is the psychological appeal of knowing that right now - when listening to a great pianist perform, for eg. Cziffra, feeling a sense of how much went into the performance we have the fortune of experiencing.

The FURY of discipline, the FIRE unleashed after hour after hour, day after day, year after year of intense hard work, honing their craft for that one precious moment of physical and musical excellence.

When listening to pianists such as Him in particular, I don't just hear the present, which is stunningly effective enough already, but I am also weighed down and blown away by the effect created by the pre-aquired knowledge of the Blood, Sweat, and Tears that went into it.

The beauty of struggle and the FURY of discipline..

Anyone else have anything else to say on this matter? 

[dnephi]

It's antisocial.  It does something to your mind to go to a piano every day and prove that you are the master of it, and do something with it, work hard.  At least, the guy on the Art of the Piano video said so, and I agree with him.

Now, there is something in the "artist as romantic hero" conception which we have developed of giving everything for the music, and that is noble. 

I believe that it is the calm of discipline, the determination of struggle, and the surety of victory through that discipline that makes it so poignant.

[opus10no2]

True, you can look at it as calm determination but this is in many cases simply a veneer... what I mean is that there must be a huge passion to fuel this, a furious demon locked up in a cage, fed sedatives , and forced to carve his mental and physical faculties to supremes of perfection.
This furious demon is held at by by stength of soul, and it is only in performance that we get to witness this demon being unleashed, and this is a very beautiful thing.

[pianistimo]

edit.  i think the beauty of struggle is appreciated most when each individual performer performs something that is meaningful to them.  it may or may not be extremely virtuosic.  but, if the meaning is there - then it's good.  also, the hours of practice do pay.  i mean, if you are a concert pianist - you ahve to do the time.

[thalbergmad]

The "struggle" is something that appeals to me. There is something romantic about it.

As i boy, i was fascinated reading stories about Liszt and how he locked himself away to practice for hours on thirds, sixths and octaves.

I believe that after a concert, their should be blood on the keyoard.

Of course, we now know that Liszt was wasting his time as all you have to do is play Scarlatti and read Chang. Not so romantic.

Thal

[dnephi]

Chang is evil.  And what does Scarlatti have to do with having excellent technique?

[mephisto]

Ëxellent music that improves your technic MUCH more than Hanon, at least that is what Bernhard sais.

[dnephi]

Ëxellent music that improves your technic MUCH more than Hanon, at least that is what Bernhard sais.

Bernhard also says weird things with which I do not agree.  Why not Mozart or Bach instead of Scarlatti?

Thal.

[zheer]

  Well if you find beauty in struggle, then there is something we could all struggle to achieve, and that is to play the entire piano repertoire, i believe Richter managed to do just that.
  To be honest i find the idea of flying round the world staying at five star hotels playing with orchestras not only romantic but very glamorous. Lucky Lang Lang. ( might get boring after a few years)

[dnephi]

  Well if you find beauty in struggle, then there is something we could all struggle to achieve, and that is to play the entire piano repertoire, i believe Richter managed to do just that.
  To be honest i find the idea of flying round the world staying at five star hotels playing with orchestras not only romantic but very glamorous. Lucky Lang Lang. ( might get boring after a few years)

Richter never Recorded Mazeppa.  What an astonishing loss we suffered therefore.

[ted]

The notion of struggle has never occurred to me. My music has always been a constant source of delight and serenity rather than the hideously neurotic battle for breath I read about so often on forums. If I had to engage in the latter in order to create music I think I would have stopped doing it long ago.

[opus10no2]

Well, I mean the struggle of the elite, Hamelin , Libetta, etc.

They spend more time at the piano than the average concert piansits, and this isn't all fun.

[lostinidlewonder]

The reality is that the struggle a musician finds trying to master their instrument is the same struggle an engineer would have trying to rise up in the industry they are in. There is a struggle in no matter what career we take on, if there is no struggle then there is no reward, no progession, no change. So to me I don't really see much "beauty" in the struggle to become better and learn more music, it is just what needs to be done otherwise I might as well live in a hole and play piano for myself only.

[penguinlover]

"The Beauty of Struggle", I love the title!  Struggle is the only way we grow as people, nothing comes easy.  Athletes go through much pain just for a race, to better their time by even a half second!  Pianists go through similar struggles to perfect just a measure, or partial measure.  Once we learn it, we go further to make it better.  And the struggle is, it can always be better - we never "arrive", but give others and ourselves pleasure in the journey.  That's what music is all about.  Struggle, then the we reap the benefits of that struggle, then struggle again.  It's beautiful! 

[henrah]

I believe that after a concert, their should be blood on the keyoard.

Christina Kiss at Carnegie did just that. Pity I was falling asleep during most of it, Liszt can get so tedious at times...

[leucippus]

"The Beauty of Struggle" may seem like a romantic term to some but those words do nothing for me.

The beauty is in the achievement, not in the struggle to get there.  However, there is something to be said for the fact that the achievement itself would be meaningless  if it came easy.  If a person could just sit down a play the piano perfectly without putting forth any effort they would soon become bored with it.

The term "The Beauty of Achievement" may not sound as romantic to some as "The Beauty of Struggle" but it's probably much more accurate.  I play the violin and sometimes I really struggle to make a phrase sound just the way I want it, and when I achieve that it's a beautify feeling.   But it was still the achievement that was beautiful and not the struggle to get there.

I have yet to experience this on the piano, because no matter how much I struggle I have yet to produce a phrase precisely the way I would like it to sound.  There is no satisfaction or beauty in that struggle itself.   The real beauty lies in the accomplishment that I someday hope to achieve. 

So technically I disagree with the term "The Beauty of Struggle", I think it should be "The Beauty of Achievement". After all, you could struggle your whole life through, but if you never achieve anything where would be the beauty in that? 

[pianolist]

I firmly believe that pianists are there to act as a go-between 'twixt composer and audience. They do need to communicate something of their own humanity, because otherwise we might as well listen to robots, which no-one likes. But I am not impressed by the idea of struggle. What moves me is sensitivity towards the music and towards life. A world-class pianist ought to love his or her fellow humans, and that should be the motivating force behind their musicianship, not an inner struggle, which is a self-centered activity.

And as for blood! I was at a concert in Strasbourg in 2004, where an appalling piece by Nono for piano and orchestra was played. Nono got his rocks off by writing music so loud for the piano that the pianist had to wear gloves to protect his hands. How dare Nono treat a piano in such a way! If he had tried to write equivalent music for a violin, no violinist in the world would ever have allowed their Stradivarius to be hit to the point of damage. The same goes for any other orchestral instrument. But of course, there's no-one at the concert or rehearsal to stick up for the hired Steinway, so the cowardly composer knows he can get away with being sadistic. Self-indulgent prig!

[Derek]

The notion of struggle has never occurred to me. My music has always been a constant source of delight and serenity rather than the hideously neurotic battle for breath I read about so often on forums. If I had to engage in the latter in order to create music I think I would have stopped doing it long ago.

mega dittos

[ramseytheii]

I firmly believe that pianists are there to act as a go-between 'twixt composer and audience. They do need to communicate something of their own humanity, because otherwise we might as well listen to robots, which no-one likes. But I am not impressed by the idea of struggle. What moves me is sensitivity towards the music and towards life. A world-class pianist ought to love his or her fellow humans, and that should be the motivating force behind their musicianship, not an inner struggle, which is a self-centered activity.

Even if a pianist is a "go-between," it doesn't mean the pianist doesn't exist, and sometimes, that existence and all its quandries gets in the way of making an effective performance.  In that sense the struggle is necessary, even urgent, because the performer has to overcome all his issues to give a true and inspired performance.

I met a Hungarian pianist once who studied in Moscow back in the day, and was acquainted with Richter.  One time he (the Hungarian) was apaprently asked to turn pages at a Richter concert; Richter opened with short and slow Liszt pieces (including Ave Maria) that he, according to my friend, played abominabally, then went backstage before the next piece, and paced furiously back and forth like a "wild animal," then somehow emerged a different person, and played the Franck P,C&F "like a god."  With this inner struggle, he overcame whatever resistance he had to playing, and the audience received the fruits of this struggle!

Walter Ramsey