2004-08-30 23:32:31尚未設定
What's wrong? (4)
The temptation and the unbearable lightness of publicity
Not many people would prefer staying overlooked if there’s a chance to be seen in the public - remember the kids hopping around the reporter on TV screen?
In a place full of beautifully designed propaganda souvenirs for concerts / dances/ plays- posters, postcards, flags, even mugs and shopping totes- the absence of critiques stands an explained mystery.
Let me elaborate how a critique was born when the former PAR was still in practice:
The music editor would contact the author simply notifying the deadline and physical data of the concert-to-be-reviewed.
If things went well, the author would agree, get a ticket and go to the concert.
If the author went home safely and produced a proper essay on time, the editor would happily review the review – editors at PAR basically don't edit critiques except for typos.
There was a problem for PAR subscribers: PAR is a monthly, a critique concert might appear almost a month afterwards. The impression blurred and faded; 99.9% of the audience were not there for a commissioned critique so they wouldn't possibly try to remember the details. 99.9% of the subscribers were the silence audience, so they had to recall what happened to a concert, more often is that they would have to imagine what had happened at the concert they didn't go.
PAR authors didn’t write under pseudonyms but with the luxury of PAR’s policy that used to allow critiques as lengthy as up to 4000 Chinese characters, we did have a chance to put things clear in a subtle, more diplomatic way. The luxury allowed quality but killed quantity, there were at most 2 music critiques every month.
The choice of concert is up to PAR, as in other media; but things would have to change since there were only a few critiques on concerts performed by local musicians.
How do you evaluate local musicians’ performance?
I ask myself this question all the time, especially when it is a concerto. Local musicians get very limited chances to play with an orchestra, I mentioned in previous critiques that even "la creme" of local musicians could get stage-frightened if circumstances were dire.
Not many musicians can resist the temptation of going public, but they probably would rather stay anonymous if publicity in words printed on paper weighing only a few grams turns into unbearable lightness.
Not many people would prefer staying overlooked if there’s a chance to be seen in the public - remember the kids hopping around the reporter on TV screen?
In a place full of beautifully designed propaganda souvenirs for concerts / dances/ plays- posters, postcards, flags, even mugs and shopping totes- the absence of critiques stands an explained mystery.
Let me elaborate how a critique was born when the former PAR was still in practice:
The music editor would contact the author simply notifying the deadline and physical data of the concert-to-be-reviewed.
If things went well, the author would agree, get a ticket and go to the concert.
If the author went home safely and produced a proper essay on time, the editor would happily review the review – editors at PAR basically don't edit critiques except for typos.
There was a problem for PAR subscribers: PAR is a monthly, a critique concert might appear almost a month afterwards. The impression blurred and faded; 99.9% of the audience were not there for a commissioned critique so they wouldn't possibly try to remember the details. 99.9% of the subscribers were the silence audience, so they had to recall what happened to a concert, more often is that they would have to imagine what had happened at the concert they didn't go.
PAR authors didn’t write under pseudonyms but with the luxury of PAR’s policy that used to allow critiques as lengthy as up to 4000 Chinese characters, we did have a chance to put things clear in a subtle, more diplomatic way. The luxury allowed quality but killed quantity, there were at most 2 music critiques every month.
The choice of concert is up to PAR, as in other media; but things would have to change since there were only a few critiques on concerts performed by local musicians.
How do you evaluate local musicians’ performance?
I ask myself this question all the time, especially when it is a concerto. Local musicians get very limited chances to play with an orchestra, I mentioned in previous critiques that even "la creme" of local musicians could get stage-frightened if circumstances were dire.
Not many musicians can resist the temptation of going public, but they probably would rather stay anonymous if publicity in words printed on paper weighing only a few grams turns into unbearable lightness.