What is the importance of a virtuoso? what is a GOOD performace?

[rachchopin]

Hi ! can I please ask  for a favor? I need people to interview for my high school senior project and it would be helpful if you could  please answer the following questions. I'm looking forward to hearing different opinions! ^.^
1. What is a virtuoso?
2. what is the importance of being a virtuoso?
3.what is a good performance/performer?
4. If a person is able to give a good performance, would you consider him/her to be a virtuoso?

Thanks in advance.

[wnlqxod]

1. What is a virtuoso?
Someone whose technical facilitations on the instrument is seemingly unlimited, almost always flawless, and perhaps surpasses the wildest imaginations of technical facilitations that others may have conceived; in this sense, I think it is indeed a possiblity that being recognized as a "virtuoso" involves things other than surpassing technical standards.
For example, one of Vladimir Horowitz's achievements is that he had composer-approved interpretation of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto. This is a VERY difficult piece, and if you can play it, you are indeed a virtuoso. He was still called a virtuoso, even though he couldn't play too many Chopin Etudes or Liszt's Transcedental Etudes or anything like that. Nowadays in competitions, you see a complete set of Op 10 (or Op 25 for that matter) Chopin Etudes being performed like it's nothing, yet they are not considerd "virtuosi". When they get active concert gigs and sell some CD's, then they are finally considered "virtuosi". Nawh mean?
 
2. what is the importance of being a virtuoso?
For one's own self: Having world-class technical facility means that you are not easily hindered by physical limitations. This allows you to play all kinds of repertoire. Without a good technique, can you play Rachmaninoff's Moments Musicaux, Op. 16? No. Without a good technique, can you play Schubert's Impromptus, Op, 90? No. Without a good technical preparation beforehand, can you play more advanced studies like Chopin's Etudes to help you achieve the "next level"? I don't think so.

For others: Hearing dazzling technique being put to good use is always a wonderful experience. From Bach's precise, articulate counterpoints to Chopin and Rachmaninoff's thundering, stormy runs to Debussy, Ravel, et al's shimmering impressionist-era textures, you need chops, there is no doubt about it.

3.what is a good performance/performer?
As it is, it is impossible to converge completely to this "standard", although it is possible to approach it. Firstly, despite the impossibility of complete convergence, here are some things that can be established beforehand:
1. It is possible for a performance to be "good" wihtout necessarily liking it.
2. It is possible for a performance to be "bad" while liking it.
Here are some examples illustrating the difficulty of judging a "good" performance. All of these examples are taken from competitions, which are meant to choose players that deliver a "good" performance in a first place.
A. Ivo Pogorelich failed to advance to the finals in the 1980 Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
B. Despite critical approval, Rina Sudo got an early exit. On the other hand, Yulianna Avdeeva got the first prize out of nowhere, scoring a major upset.
C. Quite a few people objected with Tsuji Nobuyuki's first prize in the 2009 Van Cliburn.
D. Heck, some musicians, like Zimmerman, object to competitions as a means of musical selection, even though they themselves may have benefited from such systems (i.e. career launch)- ironically, Zimmerman himself is one such example.

4. If a person is able to give a good performance, would you consider him/her to be a virtuoso?
Not necessarily. It is possible to deliver a good performance without being a virtuoso per se. For example, Artur Rubenstein was a borderline case (some people consider him a virtuoso while others may disagree), yet he delivered world-class performances.  With that being said, having chops helps; having world-class technique helps even more.
Also, listen to Yeol Eum Son's performance of Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze here, played during the FINALS of the 2009 VAN CLIBURN competition, not just some preliminary crap at a local hack competition:

This isn't Scarbo; This isn't Chopin's 10+ minutes long Ballade No. 4; this is just some good old-fashioned Bach here (or, let's do it the right way: THIS. IS. BACH!). This performance is a proof that a stellar musical experience can be delivered without relying on virtuostic display in any way.

And, oh, you are welcome