There are no absolutes in art. There are absolutes in conduct, in moral standards, in science, math, and scholarship, but there are not absolutes in art. By virtue of its subjectivity, its creativity, and its personal expression, there is no one absolute standard for art. No matter how many ways I approach this issue, I come to the same conclusion, that there are as many ways to create art as there are human beings on the earth. This being the case, it is impossible to put constraints on the human capacity for creativity, for expression, for initiative, and dreams. This is not to say that all art is equal nor that all human expressions are examples of the finest art, but it is to say that there are flaws in establishing artistic absolutes as ideal standards for creative expression.
There are, however, many truths that can be found within those great works of art deemed excellent by virtue of their longevity and their acknowledgement of greatness by experts in the field and by the thousands who approach the work with expectations born of their concepts and interests. Two composers who come to mind are Mozart and Rimsky-Korsakov. In their manuscripts we find genius of expression, of craft, of emotional power, and of instrumentation. Their musical language is such that it has a wide, historical, and current appeal, resulting in a commitment by performers to excel at adhering to the composers' intent and communicating that intent as expressively and accurately as possible. Such was the case with the two performances I heard on Sunday.
Walking over to St. George's Bloomsbury, about a 5 minute walk, we arrived and sat down, ready to hear a recital of chamber music. As we studied the program, we realized the performers were not budding students hoping to make a career in music performance, but were in fact the principal players from the Royal Opera House. They were truly marvelous musicians in all respects. Sounding like a recording in the beautiful church, the musicians played with great ease and fluidity, never sounding strained but always comfortable with every phrase, rhythm, rapidity, scale, arpeggio, and sustained note. Working as a team, we heard Beethoven and two Mozart works performed at the highest level. Each performer working independently and congruently gave us a warm, gracious tone quality that was surpassed by dazzling technique and adorned with sensitive and appropriate expression.
With an hour for a nice meal of lasagna, we prepared to attend an orchestra performance at Royal Festival Hall. The 10 minute bus trip and 5 minute walk brought us to the beautiful hall. Our seats were located to the side and up from the orchestra, giving us a great view of the players and the conductor. It was the Budapest Symphony visiting London and they were marvelous. The conductor nearly pounced on the orchestra with joy and leadership as he took them through Brahms Tragic Overture followed by the Lalo Symphonie Espagnole. Stunned by the technique of the violin soloists and the emotionally sturdy performing of the entire orchestra, we sat still waiting for Scheherazade.
This being one of my favorite works in the orchestral repertoire, I am quite familiar with it and, although I enjoy it every time, I am no longer emotionally changed by any performance. Yet from the first note to the last, I was on the edge of my seat in excitement. The orchestra was among the finest, if not the finest, I have heard in life, and the performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's masterpiece was incredible, powerful, and exhilarating. Extreme dynamic range, long expressive melodic lines, and rhythm without flaw charged through and the orchestra never relented in its desire to communicate the music to the audience.
The lengthy ovation at the end, in a town very accustomed to fine performances, served as a reminder there are great musicians all over the world and excellence is found everywhere, but does not happen without great exertion. The Budapest Symphony Orchestra, like all great performing ensembles, has paid the price for excellence and achieved it. There may not be absolutes in art, but there certainly are high standards that give the rest of us goals for our artistic expression.
No comments:
Post a Comment