| Author |
Comment |
Laura
Wichers
Moderator
Posts: 1082
(7/29/01 10:09:43 pm)
Reply
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How good are the
prodigies really?
At Encore, there are a lot of young people (under 16) who are
absolutely amazing. Take for example Jonah, the 13-year old cellist
from Curtis who had a Vuillaume last year and supposedly has a Strad
this year. He played Saint-Saens at a concert a few weeks ago (he's
already played all the major concertos; now he is "going back" to
revisit the 'easy' ones). While some of his musical ideas were not
to my taste, his technical prowess and overall musicianship was
outstanding. "Disgusting" is my favorite descriptive in cases like
this.
Here's what I'm confused about: Jonah's performance was
great, especially since he's only 13. But had I heard Isserlis play
like Jonah did, or any other highly accomplished adult cellist, I
probably would have been slightly disappointed. How does one judge
these young students? Do you judge them on based on how accomplished
they are for their age? I have trouble with that because, as in
Jonah's case, they've already played all the major literature,
played with big name orchestras, etc, so I tend to judge them the
same way I would someone like Isserlis. Is that fair to the student?
Is it also not fair to other less gifted 13-year olds to judge
prodigies as "regular" children?
Comments?
Laura
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Christopher
Chan
Registered
User
Posts: 153
(7/29/01 11:30:16
pm)
Reply
 |
Re: How good are
the prodigies really?
prodigy- a : an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual
accomplishment, deed, or event
b : a highly talented child or
youth
Han-na Chang won the Rostropovich cello competition at
age 11, taking first prize as well as the contemporary music prize.
I think with so many talented children these days the bar should be
raised. Would i be wrong in placing her as the benchmark? 
I
find prodigies to be a novelty and as we all know novelties wear
out. Children grow up. It might be better to see how a child
progresses as they become an adult. I've read that most prodigies
burnout as they get older. If you take people like Slava, Starker,
and Ma for instance, i believe they were all prodigies and they
continued to improve as well as make tremendous contributions to
their instruments. I find that Han-na Chang's new CD to be big
improvemnt over her first two. True prodigies should continue to
improve and not disappear into the woodwork...
my $.02
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Xabur1342
Registered User
Posts: 3
(7/30/01 12:10:57 am)
Reply
|
How good are
prodigies really?
He played Saint-Saens. Well that is not necessarily a the ultimate
indicator. Many young cellists play it.
In the end cello playing
is about who you are. About what you have to share with the world.
We all are unique. We all have a unique perspective on each piece
and all those perspectives are precious.
Going from childhood to
adulthood is a huge change for every human being. I think it becomes
most pronounced around 20-25. How you come out of that often has an
effect on your outlook on life and on your cello playing. Whether
you still have passion for music and a strong personal voice at the
cello. That is very important.
Who knows, he may go on to become
a doctor.
Xabur
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karen83
Registered User
Posts: 96
(7/30/01 9:47:55 am)
Reply
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Re: How good are
the prodigies really?
I think I met that same kid when he was 11 at the Killington Music
Festival. They said his parents forced him to practice 8 hours a
day. Of course there were many rumors that went around that camp for
there was a small amount of people there. Who knows if that was true
or not. But if it was, I think its a shame for an 11 year old to be
forced like that, no matter what the outcome.
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RebeccaCello
Registered User
Posts: 111
(7/31/01 10:42:18 am)
Reply
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Re: How good are
the prodigies really?
I read that Saint-Seans gave his first (piano) recital at the age
of ten and offered to play as an encore any of the 32 Beethoven
sonatas from memory!!!!!!!
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ashley
Registered User
Posts: 29
(7/31/01 12:39:27 pm)
Reply
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Re: How good are
the prodigies really?
I tend to think that we should only judge people according to their
capacity. It doesn't seem fair really to compare one person to the
next... especially with music. Everyone has different abilities and
"strong suites." I think we should judge what they DO according to
what they CAN do. 'Course, it's hard to know what someone's
abilities are when you don't know them that well. 
My
2-pennies.
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Paul
Tseng ICS Staff 
Administrator
Posts: 1464
(7/31/01 1:09:12 pm)
Reply
 |
Re: How good are
the prodigies really?
I think the best thing to do is look at the potential they
have.
It's great to have technique and repertorie taken care
of at an early age. That leaves the rest of the time to learn about
life and find one's own voice.
Christopher's assessment is
pretty good.
Sometimes, I think about Michael Rabin. What
would he have played like at age 55?
Some prodigies burn out,
some get bored, and some just get better. They are gifted and must
work hard to some degree. But only time will tell.
In the
meantime, for us lesser mortals...it's back to scales and etudes and
hard work.
Paul Tseng
My Website
Free Cello
Music!
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