performance practice

[Allen Wright]

Richard,

I like the quilting analogy, it's pretty right-on. I witnessed a lot  
of this sort of editing by the staff recording engineer while working  
at a conservatory in the States. Your description of it as a  
"completely different art form" makes sense. As in so many other  
fields (piano tuning not excluded), digital technology has  
drastically changed the prevailing practices. It's hard to imagine  
people not taking advantage of the editing possibilities for putting  
that sheen of "perfection" on the final product of a piano recording;  
it would require a deliberate decision similar to the kinds of  
choices that historic performance players make regarding the  
instruments they play. One might imagine a future school of  
performers who make it a point of pride in declaring that their  
recording is a "one-take, authentic" performance" rather than a  
digital cobbling-together exercise in complete control!

This sort of control puts me in mind of how composing and recording  
have morphed (due to the incredibly sophisticated software  
technologies available now) into one simultaneous practice (at least  
in electronic music) which we could call "composing/recording" or  
maybe "sound production". And in this discipline (which I'm engaged  
in myself as a serious avocation) the possibility for complete  
editing control over EVERY aspect of the process is mind-boggling,  
and very heady indeed. And although this is entirely a different kind  
of creative process, it's equally valid, in my opinion, as the old  
way of writing scores by hand and using live performers; not better  
or worse, just different - but with equally powerful aesthetic  
possibilities.

So although new is not necessarily better, it's different, and offers  
new possibilities. And the clock probably won't be turned back  
anytime soon, will it?

Sincerely,

Allen Wright, RPT
London, UK
>
> From: Richard Brekne <ricb at pianostemmer.no>
> Date: January 26, 2008 10:30:47 PM BST
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: performance practice
> Reply-To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
>
>
> Hi Alan
>
> Boy is this a timely post.  This past year I've been doing a lot of  
> exactly this kind of work with Simax here in Norway.  On my initial  
> meet with this practice I could not help but raise the  
> question .... how much of the final CD is the pianist... how much  
> is the producer... and how much is the editor ?  And where in all  
> this does the concept of <<music>> in the usual sense of the word  
> come in ?
> These concoctions (I guess that word applies) are like digital  
> quilting where literally every passage is played 10 - 15 times and  
> the end result any one of a subjective collection boarding on  
> randomized plastering of 100 passages... Ok.. thats perhaps  
> overstated but you get my point.  In the Grieg Ballade I just  
> helped out on there must be a total of  10^50th possible  
> combinations.  That would be 50 passages played in 10 different  
> variations each if I dont forget my basic combinations maths.
>
> In anycase... the creative endeavor that goes into this kind of a  
> production is way different then a pianist sitting down and simply  
> playing the piece from the heart and soul.  Its a completely  
> different art form I'd go so far as to say.  No pianist could  
> actually duplicate this kind of play in real life situations.... so  
> whatever spontaneity, expressivity, and passion there is in the  
> piece is a conglomeration of moods over a 5 day (in the case of the  
> Ballade) recording session.  Interesting to say the least. :)
>
> Cheers
> RicB
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080127/26886832/attachment.html