'The Great Musical Disaster'

[glennross]

Hi guys,

What do you think about this one? Do you enjoy going to the concert hall and experience a concert-giving event, or do you prefer the recording experience above it.

I personally prefer the recorded piece experience much more. I think concert-giving is one part of the 'Great Musical Disaster'

BW,
Glenn

[dcstudio]

I agree...
 but I sure do love to perform... even if I am not a concert pianist...  performing live music is awesome.

[iansinclair]

It depends... how's that for evasive?  Actually getting a live concert is, inevitably, a hassle.  If one can make an afternoon or full evening of it, with pleasant company...

So that's a strike against the live concert.

The quality of the performance factors in.  Most -- not all, by any means -- recordings are studio and carefully edited.  They can be very very good.  Most also lack a certain amount of spontaneity (this is not true of live recordings, and years ago -- long before most of this forum was born! -- there were two companies which did superb live recordings: Mercury "Living Presence" and London's "FFRR" -- both series were done with single mikes, single takes.  No engineers, no editing; some of those are the finest recorded performances ever of the music).  On the other hand, most recordings also lack errors.

On the other hand, if you have a really top drawer performance, where everything and everyone clicks you simply can't beat it.

So... I'm ambivalent.

[outin]

I've always thought it's far too much trouble and too much annoyance to go to concerts and so always preferred LIVE recordings. Studio recordings are great too, but there's always this unnatural quality in them. But I would still prefer to hear the piano in the room live. I just don't like to share the music with all kinds of people...

So my favorite music experience is a private session with a great pianist 

Those are surprisingly difficult to arrange though...

[themeandvariation]

For me, it depends (as well).
To have a Front Row seat - for a string quartet -- (Bartok, Beethoven, …)  or a great solo piano recital  (Schiff playing Bach…) … or L. Shankar with Z. Hussain .. is very exciting..  But I am now very selective.. And I won't attend unless it is front row…
Hey Glenn, I am sure you are aware that Glenn Gould goes on and on about the ridiculousness of live performance…
For myself, sometimes it can be a wonderful experience… but (imo) there certainly is a 'dog and pony' aspect to it that is unattractive

[glennross]

Now, that's another perspective. Jion a pianist to a recording session. But then you shouldn't go with me, since you will then mostly hear little bits and parts of the music instead of full takes on itself.

I really think that artists who say, "I need a live audience to react with.", really contend with a great liability. For me at least, a live concert audience is a great liability. Mostly because I've always resented the idea of 'one-timeless'. The 'non-take-twoness' of that experience. Once I give performances and all the sudden I see a spot of which I say, "Oh no, I didn't gave it just enough the amount of practice.", I'm always terribly inclined to just stop in the middle and say, "Take two!".

Since I don't enjoy concerts, I also don't enjoy attending concerts. The only time I attend a concert these days, is if a certain work is performed of which I have absolutely no other opportunity to hear via recordings. Then I will go, I'll take a tranquilizer, sit there for that, usually, hour or two and concentrate on the work. I think that's still a good reason for attending a concert.

Studio recordings are great too, but there's always this unnatural quality in them.
Those are surprisingly difficult to arrange though...

But that's another question. People always seem to dislike recordings because they think a certain amount of cheating is involved. And of course there is, but that's only for pianists who've not really thoroughly learned the piece. If a pianist does learn a certain piece to the extent that s/he cannot play it wrong even s/he tried, the splicing of a tape should be only used to have a total control over the recording, and not to fix out finger faults and that sort of thing.

[glennross]

Hey Glenn, I am sure you are aware that Glenn Gould goes on and on about the ridiculousness of live performance…

Haha. Yes, as a fellow Canadian, I sure am. And I agree with him, to a certain extent. However, don't take too seriously, everything that he says. He was also widely know for his strange sense of humor, so mostly the things he said are to be taken with a pinch of salt.

[outin]

But that's another question. People always seem to dislike recordings because they think a certain amount of cheating is involved. And of course there is, but that's only for pianists who've not really thoroughly learned the piece. If a pianist does learn a certain piece to the extent that s/he cannot play it wrong even s/he tried, the splicing of a tape should be only used to have a total control over the recording, and not to fix out finger faults and that sort of thing.

When I referred to "unnatural quality" I was referring to all the things that are done in the recording process, not to cheating.  It's rarely about wrong notes anyway. I doubt ANY pianists today does one take only for studio recordings, no matter how well they have the piece learned. Have you even seen a recording process? It's collaboration between the pianist and other people involved...

[glennross]

When I referred to "unnatural quality" I was referring to all the things that are done in the recording process, not to cheating.  It's rarely about wrong notes anyway. I doubt ANY pianists today does one take only for studio recordings, no matter how well they have the piece learned. Have you even seen a recording process? It's collaboration between the pianist and other people involved...

Yes, I know what you referred to and my reaction wasn't specifically meant to harm any feelings and I should have made that clear. I'm sorry for it. Anyway, yes I know one-takes are very rare in the recording business and yes I myself am in the recording business so I've surely been through a lot of recording sessions. That's what I mean, my reply wasn't exactly meant for anyone specifically.

[themeandvariation]

He was also widely know for his strange sense of humor, so mostly the things he said are to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Yes. I definitely find his writings provocative - and at times quite amusing.
But as you know, his perspective on live performance - (which can seem humorous, for sure)- he took to heart, as he left the stage early on (at age 30 iirc)…

[dcstudio]

It's rarely about wrong notes anyway. I doubt ANY pianists today does one take only for studio recordings, no matter how well they have the piece learned. Have you even seen a recording process? It's collaboration between the pianist and other people involved...

and it's a nightmare! lol.  seriously..  it can be brutal and painstakingly slow under the best of circumstances.  you are right...it's almost never about correcting a bad note--generally it's that you clipped the speakers, or you were too soft in one section--or the engineers had the level set wrong-- or any of a whole host of reasons other than you caking. 

[glennross]

Yes. I definitely find his writings provocative - and at times quite amusing.
But as you know, his perspective on live performance - (which can seem humorous, for sure)- he took to heart, as he left the stage early on (at age 30 iirc)…

Yes, you're right. On those subjects he might have been a little bit more serious. Leaving the concert circuit at 32 and such.