>From: John Link <johnlink@c...> >From: John Link <johnlink@c...> >It is amazing to me what nonsense is accepted as o.k. in the >classical music world. I go to a concert and I expect the musicians >to know the music inside and out, but there they are on the stage >buried in a book. Would we accept that from an actor? Only in a >reading, not in a performance for which we pay real money. Would we >accept that from a pop singer, or a folk singer? Only at a very low >level, like a high-school coffee house, and even there it is not done >by many performers.
Here's a rant of my own: Singing in an ensemble (or for that matter, playing in an orchestra) is a far more complicated matter than a solo performance by a pop or folk singer. One must listen to one's fellow musicians AND maintain a consensus on tempo and volume etc.
A good classical musician should not be "buried in a book," but giving full attention to the conductor, his/her fellow musicians and the performance. The music is there as a reference and anchor in time. You may have noticed also that a soloist (voice or instrument) will usually perform from memory, unless it is a very new or complicated piece.
One last note: If the sight of a musician working with sheet music upsets you so, you may want to avoid catching Rosemary Clooney in performance. I heard her last fall with the San Jose Symphony, and she was using some short of "crib sheet" in her set. But she certainly didn't have her nose in the paper, and she still has the voice and soul to put that music over!
Elizabeth Finkler Sunnyvale, California mightymezzo@h... mightymezzo@h... http://home.earthlink.net/~mightymezzo
"If you must be wrong, be wrong at the top of your voice!" --Lucy Van Pelt
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