November 2015 Chapter Meeting

Brandon Lee presented an informative and enjoyable workshop on the things he looks for in a performance when he is judging or adjudicating.  Some are obvious, but were very important reminders and we talked in depth about different aspects.
Here are some of the things Brandon covered:

1. Notes - accuracy
2. Rhythmic accuracy
3. Articulation - slurs, staccato, portato, tenuto, accents, etc.
4. Dynamics - contrast is very important
5. Tempo - clean and slower is better than faster and messy
6. Having a "clean" copy of music for the judge is nice...so they're not influenced by teacher markings and whether they "get it right!"
7. Most importantly, did the performer make me FEEL something?  Did the performance convey emotion?  Was it convincing?

After our discussion, Brandon played six different performances of Chopin's Nocturne Op.15 Nr 2.  We each had music to review, like judges, to see what we liked and didn't like about each performance.  We listened to, and discussed our preferences, without knowing the identity of each performer.  When we had listened to all five, and after making our own decisions on rankings according to our preferences, we were told who each performer was.  VERY interesting!!!  

The six artists were:

1. Eugen d'Albert
2. Rachmaninoff
3. Paderewski
4. Horowitz
5. Rubenstein
6. Yundi Li

As a teenager I listened to a LOT of Arthur Rubenstein recordings and was thrilled when I went to 

one of his concerts (he was 86 at the time!)  I had the privilege of meeting him afterwards and we compared 

our hand sizes while a photographer snapped a couple of pictures.  

Now, 42 years later, I was pleasantly pleased to know I STILL chose Arthur Rubenstein as my favorite performer!!

Thanks for a great Chapter meeting, Brandon, and all who attended!!

Patrice