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RE: Adjudicators

Gareth,

I have to take issue with your punt at calling me "amateur".  My original
point was that when a piece has a marked tempo, you should play it.

Of course, musicianship dictates that some conductors will take things at
different tempo according to their style.  Composers who wish this
interpretation to be taken to the music add "c." to the tempo marking -
indicating that the music should be played roughly at this tempo.  In the
last movement of "Pennine Moors", the tempo is c. 144-152.  For that you
could play this last movement at anything between brisk march tempo and
presto.

But "Sinfonietta" has strict tempo markings, no c. or approxes. Horovitz
wanted specific tempos.

In a contest situation, you wouldn't change the melody of the piece if you,
as the conductor, thought it would sound better. The reason for this is
because you would then not be playing the music as the composer intended. I
believe the same applies to the tempo.  If you think that playing a piece of
music at the correct tempo reduces the role of the conductor, then you
should pay more attention to your conductor - keeping accurate tempos is one
of the most difficult demands on a conductor's technique.  Plus I wasn't
advocating metronomical accuracy - you can pull tempos around once they are
set, but the marking should be the baseline.

I once watched a programme with Sir George Solti on it, and he was
conducting an orchestra and demonstrated the difference tempo makes to a
piece of music by conducting a passage at one tempo, and then the same
passage at just one beat a minute more.  The effects were noticeable.  He
also pointed out that by playing the piece a one beat a minute more, he was
performing not what the composer had intended.  You don't get more
professional than him!

My original gripe was the fact that the adjudicator said on the day that he
didn't mind if bands took the outer movements at tempi greater than were
marked, and the successful bands at the contest did that.

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Colin Harris (colin.harris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Musical Director: Ashington Colliery Band
1st Trombone: Five Rivers Brass

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