Posted by David on May 23, 2003 at 05:12:59:
In Reply to: a dumb post here posted by js on May 23, 2003 at 02:34:19:
This is not a dumb post. The sad truth is that no one wants to be known as the one who "slammed" someone famous.
There have been many performances by professionals in major orchestras and in college jobs that caused some of us to ask the question, "How did he/she get that job?"
Somehow, we really need to take a look at the venue. Orchestral and band players are, for the most part, good ensemble players and good auditionees. College teachers are, in my opinion, usually better soloists but many times in an academic way. There are few true soloists in our world. Those that make it are very good at marketing as well as playing.
In answer to your question, there have been many "just satisfactory" performances at tuba/euphonium conferences. You want to be the second to offer that critique? (I did a critical analysis of an orchestral performer doing a solo recital years ago at a T.U.B.A. conference and was severely criticized for doing so. Honestly, however, the performance was just not very good.) In all honesty, the player in question is very good at what he does.