attitudes

[liszmaninopin]

First, let me state that, at times, I'm guilty of what I'm about to describe.  This is probably only something that goes away with much maturity, I suspect many pianists have similar thoughts.

Have you ever noticed a subtle (or not so subtle ) sense of competition amongst pianists?  Not just at competitions themselves, but a drive to assert oneself as "better" than others, and perhaps to feel just a tad of intimidation or jealousy when one encounters a stronger pianist than oneself.  I know that, when I play in a competition, I think about winning.  When I play in a recital, I think more about the music, which is how it should be.  Sometimes I get the feeling of a certain level of snobbishness throughout the piano performance world.  Every piano event I've ever been to has always been stuffy, people staring at each other and such.  It's an uncomfortable atmosphere.  Shouldn't it really be a gathering of people with common interests and talents, sharing their knowledge and experience, rather than trying to steal the bigger spotlight?

[ted]

Yes, I agree. That is one reason I have nothing to do with musicians, don't play in public and work in virtual isolation.  

[donjuan]

Yeah, it sort of reminds of a hypothetical situation, where everyone on the earth is a genius, and they are trying to figure out who should have to take out the Garbage.
(No, im not saying all musicians are geniuses..)

[faulty_damper]

You only need one genius to take out the trash.  He tells the idiot to do it.

Back to topic:  yes, there is a cempetitiveness in piano playing etc.  Parents are guilty of this, too.  "Look, my kid can play so good, better than your kid."

And who doesn't want to be better than someone else?  It's like the guys competing for the most attractive pregnant dog to add to his repetory of bitches.  Having a lot of bitches shows the other guys how good at pregnant dog-catching he is and the number of bitches he has tells other bitches that he's really something to have so many bitches so the other bitches want to be his pregnant dog.

Then the guy gets neutered.  

[willcowskitz]

In fact, I think the parents (or grownups) are to blame fully. Its during the puberty when one's ego starts to take it's solid form.

Ego is walls around mind.

I don't remember being jealous to people when I was a kid. If I went to rich kids' homes I never came to think "Why don't we have all this?", or when my friend did something better I didn't feel like taking revenge on him. But more I heard how "adults" talked about things, I could spot jealousy and bitterness in everything. In fact those are the driving forces for many people's actions - the greatest "motivation".

No wonder adults don't learn new things so well anymore when they're so stuck with their subjectiveness and nailed-down self-images that have proven to be safe grounds to stand on. This is when the learning process stops, hooray "maturity".

If I encounter these feelings, I transform the destructive energy into productive by admitting and acknowledging that I here stand lower than someone else. When I've done this, I start developing myself towards what I would want to be, and the learning process becomes alive. Whether or not I'll ever reach that goal, my mentality has still changed to the optimal state of openmindedness towards new concepts, perspectives and therefore figures of self, and this is development in itself, it helps me see enough of that sunlight to help me grow upwards from where I stood.

If I figure out I'm hating some certain person; I, myself, am guilty of jealous hatred until proven otherwise. So until I've really rationalized the reasons for my feelings, I can't blame anyone else either.

Ego is a prison, identity is a label.

[Hmoll]

   Every piano event I've ever been to has always been stuffy, people staring at each other and such.  It's an uncomfortable atmosphere.  Shouldn't it really be a gathering of people with common interests and talents, sharing their knowledge and experience, rather than trying to steal the bigger spotlight?

What you are describing is fear and insecurity among the people who perpetuate the stuffy atmosphere. Another thing I've observed is a real pecking order mentality where everyone defers to the "most accomplished" or "most respected" person. Total nonsense. However, there's not reason you have to go along with it, if you feel secure in your ego and identity.

[xvimbi]

Sometimes I get the feeling of a certain level of snobbishness throughout the piano performance world.  Every piano event I've ever been to has always been stuffy, people staring at each other and such.  It's an uncomfortable atmosphere.  Shouldn't it really be a gathering of people with common interests and talents, sharing their knowledge and experience, rather than trying to steal the bigger spotlight?

The behavior you describe is part of the system. In competitions, one does not play to impress the audience, one plays to impress the judges (against all advice), because they are the ones who award the prizes. If you enter a competition, by definition, you will have to become jealous, envious, even mean if you want to succeed. If you are happy with somebody else winning and admire him/her, you will be left behind, and you should not play in competitions. This is the case in most cultures, and it is in all facets of life, not just in piano playing. Look at soccer moms, the cashier at your local supermarket, the scientist who is striving for the Nobel Prize, etc. they all want to succeed, which means to be "better" than others, at all costs. If you want to play music for others just for fun, you have to find a nice circle of friends.
Our world is dominated by ultra-competitiveness (particularly in the US). This attitude does not bring out the best in people, but the worst. There are two ways to be "better" than others. 1. really being better; 2. being mediocre but making everyone else look worse (although they are in fact better). The latter is by far the more dominant scenario.