Tom - Hopefully, for the integrity of this list, any discussion of this will be labeled OT, which is not to say it is trivial. Rather, that the structures we have adopted for this list are there for a reason I'm glad that you, or someone like you, who has had direct contact with them, was the first to post this item, which I came across early this morning. For anyone else, such as myself, to initiate it would have been pandering to sensationalism. The irony, in a way, is that the discordance, between perception and reality, that you have experienced personally, is lost by the time the event percolates to the level of mass consumption, especially in the current cultural and political (not to mention meteorological) climate. What adjectives can one bring to bear, with any precision? Tragic? Why? That people, or a family is not what they seem? Compared to any recent day's events, I'd say not. The children appear adjusted, as much as any of us. Their artistic souls seem relatively intact. They have each other. Bizarre? By whose standards? The country (some part of it) is in its 5th and, thankfully, final season of "Big Love". Unseemly? To be sure. Bizarre? Not. Two things do strike me about this: First, the entire coverage of this, including the role of the children, seems remarkably well choreographed. Nothing like, say, Lindsay Lohan, or Tiger Woods. By golly, they've all already started healing, and without missing a concert. They claim they've come forward "out of concern for the welfare and protection of other young women and girls." Exactly how is a sanitized production like this supposed to accomplish that? I don't know either. Second, and more to the context of this list, is the question of the inter-relationship between the artist, the music and the audience. How does the artists own experience and inner life affect his / her ability to effectively interpret and communicate a composers work? And to what extent is the audience's awareness of the personal life of the artist relevant? Does it unavoidably color our (audience) perception? Example: A) artist is unknown; B) artist has been victim of some crime or tragedy; C) artist is perpetrator of or complicit in some crime or tragedy. Too many important things going on in the world to go 'Star Magazine' on this. Our biggest concern, in relation to the Browns should still be how to get those pianos in tune. For you, Tom, it remains personal, and worthy of wrestling with, for all the reasons you said. Thanks for posting it. David Skolnik Hastings on Hudson, NY At 06:46 AM 2/18/2011, you wrote: >List >Not sure many of you have heard the latest news from the 5 Browns. >The dad was just convicted of sexual assault on the 3 girls, dating >back to when they were young children. >I've worked with this family extensively for the past 10 yrs and had >gotten to know the entire family during their Florida tours. They've >even spent some time at our home when they needed extra practice >pianos during their college days. >This news is very unsettling. As a father of 4 girls, this news >tears me apart. It just goes to show you never know what looms in >the back of peoples minds, no matter how well they present >themselves as being " normal". >Here's the article: >http://www.ksl.com/?nid=960&sid=14411718&s_cid=rss-960 > >Tom Servinsky -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110218/3532c218/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC