Is there any truth to this?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Okay, so werq34ac reminded me of something J Menz told me a while ago.

He said something along the lines of...

'yeah man, unless you've experienced getting dumped by your girlfriend, and coming home to find out that all of the tickets to the Valentina Lisitsa concert were sold out, then you can't execute Appassionata properly because you haven't experienced the proper emotions.  So pretty much what I'm trying to say here, if you haven't felt really salty before, then you can't play salty pieces'
  

And werq said something along the lines of...

'yeah man, you see all these freaking little Kids playing freaking crazy stuff like Prokofiev 2, and Petrouchka, and Gaspard, but you know what?!  They haven't felt salty before, so they can never execute a proper performance until they've experienced the saltyness.  The same thing with positive emotions.  If you haven't experienced the joy of getting an autograph by Valentina Lisitsa, then you won't be able to execute Chopin's 3rd ballade properly'



Is there any truth to this?  Do I have to punch myself in the face three times a day, every day for a month to be able to play Rachmaninoff's 2nd sonata?  Do I have to go to a therapist to get a motivation speech every week for three months to play a Chopin Ballade?  Do I have to get high at least once before I can play Scriabin's 5th sonata?

[j_menz]

Okay, so werq34ac reminded me of something J Menz told me a while ago.

He said something along the lines of...

'yeah man, unless you've experienced getting dumped by your girlfriend, and coming home to find out that all of the tickets to the Valentina Lisitsa concert were sold out, then you can't execute Appassionata properly because you haven't experienced the proper emotions.  So pretty much what I'm trying to say here, if you haven't felt really salty before, then you can't play salty pieces'
 

Despite being in a language I barely understand, you appear to have the gist of what I said.

Since you appear to doubt it, perhaps you could explain to me how one is supposed to give voice to feelings one has not experienced.


Oh, and you can forget the self assaulting or the therapist; life will undoubtedly prove sufficient in due course.

[ajspiano]

When I was younger I remember hearing all the stories of pain that artists had experienced and thinking man I wish some horrible thing would happen to me so I could play better...  pretty crazy thinking.

When some actual pain happened I wrote 50 songs/pieces over the course of a few months then stopped writing again for a while.

Emotion impacts your music. You express it through the music..  yeh, its kinda hard to perform a work that expresses an emotion you have not experienced..   The songs I wrote during that period of time in my life..  playing them takes me back there emotionally.. and the emotion comes out. So, where does the appasionata take you? You can probably express something through it, but probably not what beethoven felt and intended it to be.

EDIT:
And for those of us who have felt certain things, such as what the appasionata is about for example..  will be able to tell a subtle difference in where a performer is coming from if they are coming at it from some other emotion.

That doesnt make your performance wrong or bad..  but it would probably be better if you had the experience.

[chopin2015]

There is a difference between sympathy and empathy, indeed. But sympathy is the same as wow this music sounds like this person felt really "salty", I think I will play it like this because this is as sad as these sounds can make me feel, or opposite. You know? Empathy and sympathy, dude.

[nikolasideris]

I see what werc meant (despite the language being weird to mas well... and I'm Greek ).

But there's something that needs further discussing:

Our EMOtions are personal. Each of us experiences love, hate, sadness, in a different way. It may very well be that a small child can be scared for life because of someone telling him something bad, or feeling abandoned for a few secs in a super store. You can't measure something like this, and it's unlikely that one is able to discard others from feeling 'salty' or not.

In other words: You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through, and thus you can't exclude me from giving a heck of a performance of the Prok 2nd! Of course I simply can NOT play it technically (and most probably musically, due to my poor technique by now, but maybe if I hadn't let go of piano performance in favor of composition, there could be a tiny chance there...). And my experience have little to do with being or not being able to perform this or any other work.

_______________________

The above has no connection to how mature (musically, or in life) one is, btw!

[iansinclair]

Absolutely there is.  Consider: I am told that one could program a digital piano to play any given piece technically perfectly.  Would that be a satisfactory performance?  I rather doubt it.  It is essential for the artist -- the performer -- to bring something, or a lot, of himself or herself to the performance, and it is the interaction between the performer and the composer which lends greatness and beauty to the overall result.

The interesting thing about this is that, as a result, each performance of a piece will be different, even for a single performer never mind different performers, depending on where the individual is on a given day, and the whole life experience of the individual.

Which may explain why some of us like one performer, and others, another.

[asuhayda]

Ya,  it's kind of true.  That's why most of Beethoven's Sonatas are not even assigned to students younger than 18.. aside from the fact that they are brutally hard.

Rach's 2nd Sonata?  You're crazy man.... you're crazy.... I like you... but you're crazy!   

[blazekenny]

I remember I had to read the Divine Comedy when I was about to play the Dante sonata by Liszt. It gave me a whole new dimension to that piece and I am quite sure it was worth it. Same when I was in love for the first time and wanted to play the Petrarch sonnets. They are about unattainable love and you already need to be dissapointed by your love partner. This all needs time.
My (female) teacher once said she was never able to play the Les Adieux sonata - because its about friendship of Beethoven and his patron, Rudolph. Friendship of women is much different than friendship of men.
Mostly the topic is love though. I cant imagine a woman having a passionate performance of the Liebestraum for instance.
---------------------------
For sure, technique is also a big barrier for a pianist. You just cant play a piece well when you cant even play the notes in the first case.
Just to throw my 2 cents in, many students try to tackle the A flat chopin ballade as their first because it has the least amount of so called "technique". Thats wrong, the A flat and f minor ballades are both extremely hard, and even from big pianists, I have heard alot of boring performances. Of the A flat one especially

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Despite being in a language I barely understand, you appear to have the gist of what I said.

Since you appear to doubt it, perhaps you could explain to me how one is supposed to give voice to feelings one has not experienced.

Hmmm, lets say Rachmaninoff composed a third sonata dedicated to his best friend because he died in a car crash.  I haven't experienced that before, but I would probably be right in saying that it feels pretty salty.

I haven't broken my arm while skating before, but it would probably hurt if I did!  Now, I'm just throwing my oponion out there.  I haven't truly experienced a broken arm before, so I can't say whether or not it hurts.  I mean, after all...  I haven't broken my arm before!

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Ya,  it's kind of true.  That's why most of Beethoven's Sonatas are not even assigned to students younger than 18.. aside from the fact that they are brutally hard.

What the heck?!  To get into college in the first place you have to audition with a Beethoven sonata!

I'm still in disbelief here. 

Does this mean that I have to be addicted to heroine to play Scriabin's 5th sonata?

[pianoman53]

Well, just because some people never experienced a break up, doesn't mean they don't know anything about it. It would be rather stupid to say that we can't feel anything we haven't experienced...

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Well, just because some people never experienced a break up, doesn't mean they don't know anything about it. It would be rather stupid to say that we can't feel anything we haven't experienced...

Precisely...

[littletune]

Ok I'm not supposed to post here (cause it's primarily intended for professional pianists and piano teachers...  ), but I just wanted to say some things anyway
I guess you could say that in general in some ways it could be true. BUT ...

1. does age really have anything to do with it? I mean I just think it's a little ridiculous how people are obsessed with this age thing, I mean what one day before you're 18 you can't know or decide or do anything and then when you turn 18 the next day you just all of a sudden can???  and besides people are sooo different not everyone is the same at the same age! And also people don't just have one side of them, you could be very grownup in some way and very childish in some other way (like me: in some ways I am really mature, like I'm a lot older than 14, and I have been since like preschool, and in some other ways I'm very childish, like I'm a lot younger than 14).

2. And having a stupid boring girlfriend or boyfriend and losing them doesn't make you understand how to play something... I mean when I was in second grade we had to recite a poem that was about going on a boat and leaving home and my teacher said I recited it really well, with sadnes and all that... and you know why? not because I would ever go on a boat by myself and left home but cause i really understood that, because in the beginning of school I felt that sadness and fear every day!!!! beacuse when my parents took me to school and left me there I felt like they left me alone in the middle of the ocean!!!!!!!!! I felt so lost and so sad and so scared. So it's not really about what happens to you but about how you feel. And also I never had a stupid boring boyfriend or girlfriend but I know what it feels like when you love someone sooo much that you can't imagine life without them, because when my first doggy died i felt like a part of my soul was being cut away!!! it hurt so bad!! I fainted I threw up and I was howling like a wolf (ok that may sound funny, but it was not), and when we were going home from the vet I kept thinking: oh please please let us have a car accident!! So I think I know pretty well how it feels to love someone sooooo much and lose them, I think I know it better than most people with stupid boring boyfriends and girlfriends!!! And better than most people who are older than me!!!

[j_menz]

Hmmm, lets say Rachmaninoff composed a third sonata dedicated to his best friend because he died in a car crash.  I haven't experienced that before, but I would probably be right in saying that it feels pretty salty.

I haven't broken my arm while skating before, but it would probably hurt if I did!  Now, I'm just throwing my oponion out there.  I haven't truly experienced a broken arm before, so I can't say whether or not it hurts.  I mean, after all...  I haven't broken my arm before!

I doubt that it is necessary to experience the exact situation the Composer is dealing with, but you do need something analogous. Youth has many advantages mate, don't worry about that, but some things take time and experience. Those sorts of things aren't ones you would wish upon yourself anyway.  There's plenty of music out there that you can do justice to, and do so with a youthful perspective that isn't now available to the rest of us. Make the most of what you've got.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Ok I'm not supposed to post here (cause it's primarily intended for professional pianists and piano teachers...  ),

I'm not a professional pianist.   

[j_menz]

I'm not a professional pianist.   

I'll give you 5 cents for every P&F you record and post. Then you will be. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I'll give you 5 cents for every P&F you record and post. Then you will be.  

I'm gonna start recording my prescreening auditions this week.










































































The Bach comes first...

[j_menz]

The Bach comes first...

See, your first 5 cents (on delivery). Do you take cheques?

[ajspiano]

See, your first 5 cents (on delivery). Do you take cheques?

If rach doesnt take the deal he's mad, for that matter, if other forum members don't try to negotiate something similar they are too.. 

..Considering they'd probably pay decent money for the benifits..

[asuhayda]

What the heck?!  To get into college in the first place you have to audition with a Beethoven sonata!

I'm still in disbelief here. 

Does this mean that I have to be addicted to heroine to play Scriabin's 5th sonata?

I repeat...

That's why most of Beethoven's Sonatas are not assigned..

...  I know, I played the Pathetique Sonata for my college auditions.  But all of the "student" sonatas are marked at level 10 (the highest difficulty) in Jane Magrath's book The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature

Specifically.. Op. 2 No. 1, Op. 10 No. 1, Op. 10 No. 2,  Op. 13 "Pathetique", Op. 14 No. 1, Op. 14 No. 2, Op. 27 No. 2, Op. 49 No. 1, Op. 49 No. 2, Op. 79 in G major

....  the rest of Beethoven's Sonatas aren't even listed in the book.  (because they are.. ahem.. brutally hard)

Dude.. seriously... owned!    haha.. j/k

and yes, I'm pretty sure you have to be on Herione to play Scriabin's 5th Sonata

[rachmaninoff_forever]

and yes, I'm pretty sure you have to be on Herione to play Scriabin's 5th Sonata

Okay!



Hmmm, now where can I find a heroine dealer...

[rachmaninoff_forever]

See, your first 5 cents (on delivery). Do you take cheques?

I'm only doing it because my teacher says so!   

[j_menz]

Hmmm, now where can I find a heroine dealer...

Marvel comics? Hollywood? HBO?

[j_menz]

I'm only doing it because my teacher says so!  

Then perhaps you should offer him a percentage.

[clavile]

I know there is a certain musicality involved with maturity, but I don't believe that you "can't play something" until you're 18.

You can't walk up to somebody and tell them they can't play a piece because "You've never really been sad" or "You've never felt salty" --WHAT? That is ridiculous! How do YOU know what they've experienced? Everybody experiences things in different ways. It's crazy to place limits on music this way.

I believe teachers should let their students experiment with music, not restrain them. That is not what music is about. If I hadn't been allowed to experiment and stretch, I would NOT have made it half as far as I have today.

Yes, maybe they can't play a piece with all the feeling a mature adult can. But why keep them from  playing the piece? Even if they can't play it as well as you'd like now, when they're older, say, even as much as another three years, they will be able to play that piece better. As long as you're not tossing them up on a stage for everybody to watch bang out Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, I don't see a problem with it.

Allowing students to stretch in music is a gift to them. I know of several teachers who are all about making their studio and themselves look perfect, and it is an inhibition to their students. Students should be allowed to blossom and grow. I don't mean teachers should let students play pieces that are WAYYY over their level, just allow them to stretch some. Encourage them in it!!! Why not give your student a taste of these types of pieces earlier rather than later? If you start working with them at 14 on these types of pieces rather than 18, how much more progress will they have made than if you started on them at  18? There are ways to teach you students HOW to feel music. And ALL my teachers have done this with me. Piano is a progressive art, not an age art. Start working with your students on these things early, rather than later!!! Like I said, a certain musicality comes with age, but come on!

Encourage your students to reach for higher goals. Don't restrain them!!!

[j_menz]

I don't believe that you "can't play something" until you're 18.

I never mentioned a specific age. Certainly not 18.

Consider (an extreme example, perhaps, but illustrative) the very late piano works of Liszt. They are music of old age, of regret, of despair, of longing and of resignation. They are are rather miserable reflection on life by a rather miserable old man. How does an 18 year old know anything of this? Or a 40 year old? Or a content and happy nonagenarian, for that matter?  How could such a work speak to them, what experiences could they bring to the music to give it life?

I would never suggest that anyone (who can) shouldn't have a look at whatever they like, but to think they can do it justice? No.

[chopin2015]

I never mentioned a specific age. Certainly not 18.

Consider (an extreme example, perhaps, but illustrative) the very late piano works of Liszt. They are music of old age, of regret, of despair, of longing and of resignation. They are are rather miserable reflection on life by a rather miserable old man. How does an 18 year old know anything of this? Or a 40 year old? Or a content and happy nonagenarian, for that matter?  How could such a work speak to them, what experiences could they bring to the music to give it life?

I would never suggest that anyone (who can) shouldn't have a look at whatever they like, but to think they can do it justice? No.

Excuse me but I really love mephisto valse, and have not heard any good rendition of it by the pros. Richter's was really good, but that is because he is a good pianist, but still was not perfect to me because I have heard an 18 year old play it good. Anywho, I am learning it now because I really hope I can play it how I like, I have an impression of what I would like it to sound like. Also I am reading the book Faust. Also, I am a very lonely person with a social disorder, so I figure I can give it a good shot.  SO how would you play Ondine? Have you ever had a water nymph show up at your window asking you to come down to her kingdom and be ruler of her castles and whatever else she was talking about? I can't believe noone liked my sympathy and empathy comment. Everyone's situation is different though.

[j_menz]

Excuse me but I really love mephisto valse,

I assume you mean the first one; that's not late Liszt. If you can manage it technically, I'm sure you have plenty to bring to it.

Have you ever had a water nymph show up at your window asking you to come down to her kingdom and be ruler of her castles and whatever else she was talking about?

Yes. She's a confounded nuisance. I had to take out a court order!

[outin]

Makes me wonder how actors do it? Make a believable performance while they certainly cannot have experienced everything themselves. I don't see why music would be so different. I think it is about your personal sensitivity and ability to imagine how something might feel and create emotional content based on that. I think there are very few basic emotions that people associate with different event in their life. So even if you have not been suffering from a deadly disease, most have been ill and can use that experience to imagine how it would be if the that suffering and loss of personal security is multiplied by 100. Also you cannot judge someones emotional experience by their age, some people have suffered emotionally more before the age of 10 than many do all their life. Just simplified examples, hopefully the point comes through...

If it isn't so, we should categorize all music according to who wrote it: Music written by men should only be played my men (I'd better get a sex change then), music written by old people should only be played by old people, music written by depressed composers should only be played by those who are/have been depressed and so on.

Another thing is that how can one judge what is the right emotional interpretation of music that was composed 200 years ago and none of us never heard the composer (with his/her life experiences behind the performance) play it? When we listen to music we use our own experience to interpret the emotional content, so how do we know that we understand/feel it the same way it was meant by the composer or even the performer? The listener may be just as lacking as the performer in this sense.

[pytheamateur]

Can I put the question the other way?  What pieces do you suggest playing when you have a broken heart?

[pianoman53]

I would understand your point if music was a blank piece of paper, and the composer only wrote "a sad piece " as the title. But most composers didn't. You make it sound like the composer didn't give any instructions at all. But most composers did. To only do what the composer wrote is usually difficult enough. And what do you think the teachers are for? And what about musicality? There are so many flaws in the "if you haven't lived it, you can't play it"-argument that its a bit difficult to take it seriously...

[asuhayda]

Marvel comics? Hollywood? HBO?

OH I GET IT!!! WE MISSPELLED it!!! hahahahaha!! ha. heh..  eh... ugh

[chopin2015]

I assume you mean the first one; that's not late Liszt. If you can manage it technically, I'm sure you have plenty to bring to it.

Yes. She's a confounded nuisance. I had to take out a court order!

Can you give me some examples of late Liszt? Am interested
 

[49410enrique]

Can you give me some examples of late Liszt? Am interested
 

of the little liszt i do like, they are all considered 'late' in his output (where he had a period of music of  retrospection/reflection, music of despair, and music of 'death') , here are some shining examples
my absolute favorite of all his music!

others

elevating 'grief'
just of few of these
Seven Hungarian Historical Portraits

here are a few, the whole set is incredible

especially morbid (it's funeral music)-especially AWESOME!!!!

another dark and disturbed work
funerla prelude and march

[chopin2015]

Thank you, Ricki! ))

[clavile]

I never mentioned a specific age. Certainly not 18.

Consider (an extreme example, perhaps, but illustrative) the very late piano works of Liszt. They are music of old age, of regret, of despair, of longing and of resignation. They are are rather miserable reflection on life by a rather miserable old man. How does an 18 year old know anything of this? Or a 40 year old? Or a content and happy nonagenarian, for that matter?  How could such a work speak to them, what experiences could they bring to the music to give it life?

I would never suggest that anyone (who can) shouldn't have a look at whatever they like, but to think they can do it justice? No.

Everybody has different views, and I do not hold to this one. Feelings can be taught, and it is not impossible to incorporate feelings into music, even if you haven't felt them. Have I ever really despaired? No. Have I ever really felt resignation? True longing? No, but I can put them into the music I play. As well as an adult? No! Like I said, some of it comes with maturity.

Music holds the key to feeling, and yes, it may take an understanding of the music, but if you understand the music, you can incorporate it without ever having felt despair, misery, or pain. All humans have a basic idea of how these things feel, and we have all seen them to some degree. Yes, most five year-olds couldn't do it(Unless they were a prodigy), but you don't have to be 100 to play a piece.

[j_menz]

Makes me wonder how actors do it? Make a believable performance while they certainly cannot have experienced everything themselves. I don't see why music would be so different.

In a sense it is no different. Consider what is asked of child/teenage actors compared to more mature roles.

Consider why there are no great performances of Lear by young actors, and why old actors playing Hamlet appear to miss the point.

[Bob]

I'd say no, not required, but if it's the same vibe as the piece of music then it will probably help.  Otherwise you can play/follow/act out what's written on the page.

[outin]

Consider why there are no great performances of Lear by young actors, and why old actors playing Hamlet appear to miss the point.

I cannot, because I cannot stand theatre... But I have seen pretty convincing roles in movies by young actors who surely have not experienced anything like it...

But to be able to judge how great the performance actually is would you not need to have lived as a Danish prince or an English king? That was my other point...In the context of such material the whole idea of emotional content being delivered right or wrong in the present setting seems faulty.

EDIT:
A good performance to me has to:
- be correct, not perfect, but correct enough that I am not distracted by mistakes
- have good enough tone quality that my ears do not hurt
- feel sincere to me, which means it reflects the personality and ideas of the performer instead of just showing learned tricks that are supposed to be interpreted as emotional content and presenting other people's ideas about what the composer meant/wanted (which change with time and can rarely be proven to be true)
- be interesting in some way, either the piece itself or the way it is delivered (this is a bit more difficult to actually define, it's very subjective)

I guess the problem with the younger players would be with the 3rd requirement. But IMO it's mostly about imagination and individuality. When those are present age or life experiences really doesn't matter that much. I would expect that most classical performers have actually lived a pretty sheltered life. So I think some people just have these qualities, it has little to do with what they have actually experienced. I agree that sometimes maturity in general helps, but that too comes to some people sooner, some later and some never.

[j_menz]

A good performance to me has to:
- be correct, not perfect, but correct enough that I am not distracted by mistakes
- have good enough tone quality that my ears do not hurt
- feel sincere to me, which means it reflects the personality and ideas of the performer instead of just showing learned tricks that are supposed to be interpreted as emotional content and presenting other people's ideas about what the composer meant/wanted (which change with time and can rarely be proven to be true)
- be interesting in some way, either the piece itself or the way it is delivered (this is a bit more difficult to actually define, it's very subjective)

Sounds as exciting as cold porridge to me.

For me a good performance has to render the performer invisible, has to touch my soul in profound ways; move me to tears, take me on a journey, reveal truths of which I was unaware.

No doubt you hear more "good performance" than me.

[outin]

Sounds as exciting as cold porridge to me.

For me a good performance has to render the performer invisible, has to touch my soul in profound ways; move me to tears, take me on a journey, reveal truths of which I was unaware.

No doubt you hear more "good performance" than me.

Actually I do... And I am happy about that.

Don't mind cold porridge either

[j_menz]

And I am happy about that.

Then you have my pity. I doubt you want it, but you have it nonetheless.

[pianoman53]

Okay, so you can't stand to hear some 10 year old kid play the g minor ballade with a perfect tone and all technical parts played with a good technique? A teacher can tell him some musical details so that he might be able to 'feel' the music a bit more, too. If you can't see that as a good and satisfying performance, I pity you.

I pray to God that I misunderstand all the things you said here, but this is how I understood it:
You can't stand listening to an example as the one above, but has to listen to a full developed artist, who is (most possible) extremely depressed (probably on the edge of suicide), while he is happy as can be,  lost half of his family in the war, while he found his true love (who he most probably met in the most romantic way possible), aaand being still alive? Again, I feel sorry for you that the only artists you might find slightly worth listening to probably are dead, and probably never even lived.

And how about taste? Chopin's music is often very very sad, but still almost always have this sort of pride in it, while Liszt's music sometimes goes faaaar beyond that. Bach's music was studies, and Mozart never really felt he way his music suggests. How is one person able to have lived through all that?
They don't, they listen to how they sound, and change it if they don't like it.

[pytheamateur]

Take the case of 15-year old wunderkind George Li.

I liked his Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 very much, but somehow I am less moved by his playing of the Appassionata, despite its technical brilliance.

Tell me what you think.  It could be my preconceptions, of course.

[outin]

Then you have my pity. I doubt you want it, but you have it nonetheless.

Oh, no need. After all I will probably be able to enjoy so much more musical performances than you

Seriously, I am just not an emotional person. I don't need to be moved to tears to enjoy a performance. I get my kicks out of other things...

[clavile]

Oh, no need. After all I will probably be able to enjoy so much more musical performances than you

Seriously, I am just not an emotional person. I don't need to be moved to tears to enjoy a performance. I get my kicks out of other things...

Okay, so you can't stand to hear some 10 year old kid play the g minor ballade with a perfect tone and all technical parts played with a good technique? A teacher can tell him some musical details so that he might be able to 'feel' the music a bit more, too. If you can't see that as a good and satisfying performance, I pity you.

I pray to God that I misunderstand all the things you said here, but this is how I understood it:
You can't stand listening to an example as the one above, but has to listen to a full developed artist, who is (most possible) extremely depressed (probably on the edge of suicide), while he is happy as can be,  lost half of his family in the war, while he found his true love (who he most probably met in the most romantic way possible), aaand being still alive? Again, I feel sorry for you that the only artists you might find slightly worth listening to probably are dead, and probably never even lived.

And how about taste? Chopin's music is often very very sad, but still almost always have this sort of pride in it, while Liszt's music sometimes goes faaaar beyond that. Bach's music was studies, and Mozart never really felt he way his music suggests. How is one person able to have lived through all that?
They don't, they listen to how they sound, and change it if they don't like it.

+1 at BOTH!!!! Excellent!

Even if a person bangs out a piece on a piano, if I see they LOVE the music they're playing, I enjoy the performance.

Even seeing a little beginner get up on the stage, and play a piece is so enjoyable!

[j_menz]

I pray to God that I misunderstand all the things you said here

Clearly you have.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Take the case of 15-year old wunderkind George Li.

He's my age now...

[Bob]

I'd also say if it's an emotional piece, being guided by actually feeling the emotion is better than just following directions accurately.  With emotions, you can adjust things better to the performance.

[clavile]

I'd also say if it's an emotional piece, being guided by actually feeling the emotion is better than just following directions accurately.  With emotions, you can adjust things better to the performance.

And if you have the correct teacher, they can teach you how to actually feel the emotions rather than just following the dynamics.