A piano comp that actually matters

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Okay you know what IVE HAD IT with these terrible piano comps.  No I don’t care you can play Rach 3 like everyone else, no I don’t care you can play all the Chopin etudes like everyone else.  We get it you know how to sound good with over a year of preparation time for one concert.  That’s not how real life works.

They should have a comp where each round is a recital but they pose a challenge that actually happens irl.  Like….

A piano concerto but last minute the conductor bails and they give you a sub they told you was good but he’s actually trash.

Or you get one rehearsal for piano concerto but the fire alarm goes off during rehearsal and you’ve only rehearsed 1/3 movements

Or a recital but you don’t get a sound check.  Or the piano you picked during sound check isn’t the piano they give you on stage. 

Or you’re told you’re playing for a sold out crowd but when you walk on stage there only 3 people lmao.

Or the food in your dressing room is spoiled and you get food poisoning but have to perform anyways.

Or a chamber recital but for rehearsal you were given a different chamber piece than what the rest of the ensemble was given and now ya’ll have to decide what to do

Or all of the contestants aren’t told what day or time OR LOCATION they’re playing until one hour before.

IMO this is WAY more entertaining and actually translates better to real life than an over glorified conservatory exam

[lostinidlewonder]

What about the competitors must hold their breath while playing and if they take a breath they must stop playing and leave the stage.

Or any competitors may choose to have an MMA bout at any time with the current performer, and at the end of the fight the pianist must continue playing the piano (if conscious) from where they left off.

Or what about giving the audience tomatoes and they may throw it at the pianist if they don't like them?

We could encourage the audience to laugh loudly if the pianist makes a mistake, or yawn very loudly if the music is boring.

[lelle]

A piano competition where wrong notes and other mistakes are not counted at all in the scoring. Both the judges and audience can give ratings but all you can go on is how good you found the interpretation. Not sure how to enforce that but it would be interesting.

[dizzyfingers]

 

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Or you’re told you’re playing for a sold out crowd but when you walk on stage there only 3 people lmao.

Hey, not good enough! Once played to an audience of two and one of them was my mum.

[themeandvariation]

Jamming RH thumb day before performance, having to play without it.. that was interesting.
Stuck in traffic for 2 hours, freaking out, then running to the stage..
Accompanying a singer, she hands me the music, unbound, and someone opens some door, blowing the music off the stand mid performance, having to improvise the rest.
I attended a friend's performance playing a violin concerto where a string snapped mid performance - and kept on going.
Just a few off the top of my head - a comedy of errors.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

A piano competition where wrong notes and other mistakes are not counted at all in the scoring. Both the judges and audience can give ratings but all you can go on is how good you found the interpretation. Not sure how to enforce that but it would be interesting.

Isn’t that how they judge comps anyways?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

What about the competitors must hold their breath while playing and if they take a breath they must stop playing and leave the stage.

Or any competitors may choose to have an MMA bout at any time with the current performer, and at the end of the fight the pianist must continue playing the piano (if conscious) from where they left off.

Or what about giving the audience tomatoes and they may throw it at the pianist if they don't like them?

We could encourage the audience to laugh loudly if the pianist makes a mistake, or yawn very loudly if the music is boring.

I like the tomato idea.  It’s still on my bucket list to get tomato’d

I’ve been booed off stage once is harder than it looks.  Audiences are maybe a little too forgiving

[transitional]

Isn’t that how they judge comps anyways?

In theory, yes, but not in practice.

[lostinidlewonder]

I like the tomato idea.  It’s still on my bucket list to get tomato’d

You can always visit Spain.

I’ve been booed off stage once is harder than it looks.  Audiences are maybe a little too forgiving

Did you hijack someone's performance? 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

You can always visit Spain.

Did you hijack someone's performance? 

No we got kicked out for hate speech lol (not my band I was a sub)

[quantum]

You arrive at the venue and ask to see the piano, the event coordinator shows you a xylophone.  "But where is the piano" you ask.  The event coordinator points to the xylophone and  says "here it is."  Meanwhile the orchestra is setting up on stage, they will be ready for rehearsal in 20 mins.

[gasplamey]

At first I thought you meant "a piano composition that actually matters."
I was very confused as to why you thought that existing piano compositions don't matter and even more confused by the talk of throwing tomatoes.

THEN I figured it out.