After restating the positions of some of our frequent bloggers (Allen, John, and Anna), she boils the discussion down to this:
It looks, therefore, like there are three variables that may affect how happily advanced musicians respond to metaphors in rehearsal:
- Appropriateness of the metaphor to the level of performance
- Amount of time available to prepare the music
- Degree of trust between director and musicians
She ends with this:
I saw a lovely example of a complex metaphor in video footage of a rehearsal of the Kreutzer Quartet working with Michael Finnissy on a piece of his they were due to premiere. It was clearly a project in which they were all investing a good deal of time and attention, and as a result had built up a high level of trust between ensemble and composer. They were thus more than ready to take it in their stride when he said a certain passage needed to sound ‘more salty’.
Great blog, Liz!
philip copeland says
John Howell says