Comments on: Competitions are not meant for music

By: Competition Jury – Bach Fugue BWV 1000/1001 — Classical Guitar Review

Competition Jury – Bach Fugue BWV 1000/1001 — Classical Guitar Review — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:53:57 +0000

[...] Competitions in music are funny things, and more often than not the jury can make some very surprising decisions! So now, in an attempt for us all to understand the process a little better, you get to be part of the jury. Here are your rules: [...]

By: Benito

Benito — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:05:05 +0000

Hello,

May I suggest you to listen to Pavel Steidl, Roland Dyens and Johan Fostier?
They all won competitions and are absolutely unique. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to tell them from Bream, Segovia, and Williams.

I wonder if you could tell Williams from, let’s say, 70% of today’s prizewinners. In my opinion, Williams would just reprensent the basic, objective “qualities” juries use to evaluate competitors.

Enjoy those “new” players (and their “new” repertoire) too.

By: Sean Howard

Sean Howard — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:49:10 +0000

I have never looked upon competition as a good thing in music, neither as a guitarist or back in my trumpet-playing high school days. As the article mentioned, music presents itself in a subjective form; yet competitions attempt to evaluate via objective means. I’ve often felt organizations, such as the GFA, use competitions to control the exposure of the guitar; you can’t ‘make it’ without winning several competitions. And there are so many guitar players out there recording, I can’t tell one from another. Now, I can definitely tell Bream, Segovia, and Williams apart.

By: Benito

Benito — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:56:09 +0000

I wonder why you say that most competitions are for amateurs. The most I entered (in Europe) and those I’m aware of (worldwide) are for (beginning) professionnals and future professionnals, mostly still studying but at a University level or already having one or more University degrees… who will all become or already are at least official teachers, that’s what means “pro” in my understanding. An amateur musician is someone who doesn’t live from musical activities.
But if you know of many competitions for amateurs (in Europe at least), please tell me.

It’s true: giving a concert isn’t the same as playing ina competition, but I feel stress and extra nerves in both situations. To me, the biggest difference is that you have to give music in a concert rather than prove your mistake-free abilities and subsequently doesn’t have to play pieces you barely can play without tremendous efforts (which don’t allow you to give that much).

By: Benito

Benito — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:44:36 +0000

As a rule, I agree. Most competitions are not meant for music and most competitions-winners are indeed mistake-free robots. This reveals the level of musical understanding of the jury too, which is generally poor.
BUT: 1) I’m pleased to have in mind a few exceptions, the most obvious to me being Johan Fostier (GFA 2001), but also Irina Kulikova (Alessandria) or Rafael Aguirre (Benicassim). I confess I didn’t hear them during the competition, but knowing Johan well, he can only be himself. The other two also seem to have something different to tell than most but they may have told less during the competition itself…
2) I’m pleased to see how “intensive” prize-winners like Zoran Dukic or Denis Azabagic have developed their musical expression after thoses “races”. I have heard them both during and after the competitions.
3) From my own experience of amateur player, I think I developped musically as I’ve had to improve my technical abilities (including tone production and control, not only speed!) in order to do fairly well in competitions. You can musically express yourself freely only if your mechanical tools (all parts of your body) are fully and correctly used for that goal.
4) Let’s face it. The wide audience will always prefer somebody playing impressively without noticeable mistakes to a very sensitive player doing very complex interpretations and (noticeable) mistakes. Moreless mistake-free playing is the first level a musician has to reach (I don’t mean (s)he has to reach it first, before musically playing) before playing in concert for a general audience.

By: Bradford Werner - Classical Guitar Canada

Bradford Werner - Classical Guitar Canada — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:58:24 +0000

I’ve always seen competitions as a way to push myself toward the goal of being a better musician…training if you will. That’s why most competitions are for amateurs, not pros. Giving a concert is not the same as playing in a competition, I like the stress the and extra nerves of competing. Is it good for the music? Maybe not, but western culture has always used competition to raise the level or sports, art, and other ventures.