BBC Blog Network

User Profile

fioritura

Listed below are comments made by fioritura between Monday, 4th May 2009 and Friday, 6th November 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Time for Taverner... 10:53pm on 06 Nov 2009 Interesting take on this Andrew. As a participant, I suspect it will be more compelling in concert than on radio - much of the drama and theatricality is visual and will be lost over the airwaves. Come and see it if you can folks!
String theory explained? 11:09pm on 09 Oct 2009 Hi Ant

Am just listening to your Mahler 1 concert on iPlayer and am hearing bits I've never heard before. I loved what you said on the trailer for the programme on Donald Runnicles. That, plus what I'm listening to just now totally disprove the stupid theory that Philippa Ibbotson was putting forward in her dreadful article in the Guardian this week (basically that conductors are oevrpaid time-beaters)!

"As an orchestra we sometimes struggle with conductors who know what makes the difference but can't show it with their hands, or who can make the right gestures but don't seem to know the music. We know what's right when we hear it, but we have to struggle together to discover it."

Runnicles is making that difference, and it sounds to me as if he has the respect of, and rapport with, the orchestra to bring this to life in performance. I hope you're enjoying your new regime :-)

Fi
WHAT ARE YOU FOR? 6:30pm on 04 May 2009 "the simplest action ... is initiated a fraction of a second before I have any knowledge or perception of what's going on"
That's interesting Ant - I wonder if this is a combination of your instinctive musicality, and vast experience gathered over the years? So, for example, confronted with a modern and tonally-challenging piece, would this theory still hold, or does the conscious mind have to take over to compute the unknown or the unexpected?
In fact, the process is probably more transparent in a singer - I see a note and even before my mind computes where it is, all the mechanics of making that sound spring into action and I sing (hopefully!) the right note. I know that when I've had to learn particularly difficult music that initially makes no sense, there comes a point (usually after a sleepless night of having it run through my head) when I have it "in my voice" and it just happens without thinking about intervals, accidentals etc.
I must read that book - sounds like lots of food for thought - and put me down for the workshop!
Fi

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

fioritura