Re: Re: Re: a dumb post here


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Posted by C(G) on May 23, 2003 at 18:03:44:

In Reply to: Re: Re: a dumb post here posted by TubaRay on May 23, 2003 at 11:06:06:

Let's look at it from a different angle.

A professional player is being paid to be at his best at every performance, even if s/he doesn't feel like it (I believe that's what Arnold Jacobs termed "the big lie"). And that's why it's called a "performing art"--the performance is the only thing that matters. As an audience member, I'm not paying to find out what a pro had for dinner or how much sleep he got the night before or how badly he can fumble a mute. I'm paying for and expecting the very best every time. That's why s/he's a professional.

Suppose you're one of those pros and you turn your performance into a regular old clam bake. You get a standing ovation. How does that make you feel? "Gee, these yokels couldn't tell Mahler from a leaky whoopie cushion" or "That must have been pity applause". In short, you wouldn't think much of the audience or maybe you'd think worse of yourself. Honesty is a good thing.

What's burned me as an audience member sometimes is that the announced work is suddenly changed to something else without notice or the featured performer didn't make it or got sick. At no time did anyone behind the mike say "Sorry for not giving you what you paid for; if you want a refund, please go to the ticket counter". Nope, they expected me to grin and bear it gracefully. I've attended concerts where the featured work wasn't ready so the orchestra played another shorter work of the same composer THREE TIMES to fill the time gap.

You know, if we had honest audiences, we might have better performances.


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