The musician’s quest

The violinist Ivan Galamian describes the musician’s quest for a goal greater than mere technical accomplishment:

A complete technique .. implies the ability to do justice, with unfailing reliability and control, to each and every demand of the most refined musical imagination.  It enables the performer, when he has formed an ideal concept of how any work should sound, to live up to this concept in actual performance.  A technique which fulfills these ultimate requirements can be called an accomplished interpretative technique.  It is the fundamental goal for which one must strive, because it, and it alone, opens the way to the highest artistic accomplishment.

Galamian, Ivan, Principles of Violin Playing and their Teaching, p. 5.  Cited in Gerig, Reginald (1974) Famous Pianists and their Technique.  Washington: Robert B. Luce Inc, p. 2-3.

Posted

in

by

Greg

Tags:

,

Featured Content

Ode I
Title: Ode IComposer: Greg SmithInstrumentation: PianoPerformer: Greg Smith (January 2010) Your browser does not support the audio element. Sheet music
The advantages of having a manager
Vaughan Williams had asked Holst about his experience of having an agent. Holst, who was at Harvard University at the time, replied: I’m very glad I’ve made use of Duncan McKenzie (OUP) as an agent. He has been really helpful and I hope you’ll at least consider using him. The alternative would be to print […]
What a difference an audience makes
Mozart was in Paris in 1778. He visited the duchess of Chabot, Elisabeth-Louise de la Rochefoucauld, wife of Louis-Antoine-Auguste de Rohan. Mozart described the visit in a letter to his father: A week went by without any reply, but she had informed me to see her in a week’s time, so kept my word and […]
The Rink
Title: The Rink (Silent film soundtrack) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score     Related products:     – The Rink – MP3 soundtrack BACKGROUND: FILM:     Written by: Charles Chaplin, Vincent Bryan & Maverick Terrell     Starring: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Henry Bergman & Albert Austin     Directors: Charles Chaplin & Edward Brewer     Year of release: […]
The work of the individual
“The work of the individual still remains the spark that moves mankind forward.” – Igor Sikorsky, Russian aviator
Gershwin conducting
Isaac Goldberg described Gershwin’s enthusiasm when conducting: He conducted not just with his baton, but with his cigar, his shoulders, his hips, his eyes and whatnot.  Nothing but a sense of propriety keeps him from leaping over the footlights and getting right into the show himself. Cited in: Greenberg, Rodney (2008) George Gershwin.  New York: Phaidon […]
I need a better razor
Haydn reached London in the opening days of 1791. He passed his first night at the house of Bland, the music publisher, at 45 High Holborn, which now, rebuilt, forms part of the First Avenue Hotel. Bland, it should have been mentioned before, had been sent over to Vienna by Salomon to coax Haydn into […]
Dividing the concert takings
In 1866 Brahms and the violinist Joachim gave a concert tour through Switzerland.  One of their concerts was in Aarau. After the program, Brahms and Joachim went to a tavern, where they opened several bottles of the best vintage Swiss wine, including the popular vin mousseux of Lausanne.  Brahms felt decidedly genial. “How did we […]
Be a dreamer
“Be a dreamer. If you don’t know how to dream, you’re dead.” – Jim Valvano, American basketball coach
How caffeine can cramp creativity
(250, 308, ‘How Caffeine Can Cramp Creativity’, ‘how-caffeine-can-cramp-creativity’, ‘ Caffeine can boost energy, reduce fatigue, and increase short term concentration and problem solving skills. However, creativity is haboured in a less focused mind: Creative insights and imaginative solutions often occur when we stop working on a particular problem and let our mind move on to […]