Babe (YT)

At about 2:49 in the video..., posted on September 29, 2014 at 08:21:25
genungo	..., it looks as if she has three arms! Beautiful! Of course, her hips and her torso aren't too shabby looking either...

RE: Babe (YT), posted on September 29, 2014 at 09:34:04
jec01 Audiophile Posts: 1462 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Joined: September 22, 2004	My wife is a custom dressmaker. Some of her clients are professional pianists, several of whom you probably have heard of. But I don't think she's ever been asked to engineer a gown like that one. Happy listening, Jim "The passage of my life is measured out in shirts." - Brian Eno

That's the gown she wore when we saw her play the Ravel G-major Concerto, posted on September 29, 2014 at 09:55:55

Chris from Lafayette
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Since: February 6, 2012

Both her commercial CD's (Liszt and Chopin) are very exciting (see below for example), but the last time I saw her in concert, I felt there was too much going off the rails and too many notes missing in action. She's still an interesting artist, but I hope she tightens up her discipline just a bit.

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=music&m=196366

RE: That's the gown she wore when we saw her play the Ravel G-major Concerto, posted on September 29, 2014 at 10:06:42
Travis Audiophile Posts: 6170 Location: La Grange, Texas Joined: November 25, 2001	I don't think there's anything left to "tighten up." "If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok

RE: Babe (YT), posted on September 29, 2014 at 10:18:53
6bq5 Audiophile Posts: 4391 Location: SF Bay Joined: August 16, 2001	Thank You for posting - a wonderful performance! Happy Listening

I saw her at the Carnegie earlier this year..., posted on September 29, 2014 at 18:45:24
kuma Audiophile Posts: 10273 Location: IN Joined: July 8, 2001	She played Liszt and Chopin's B Minor sonatas, along with Ravel's La Valse and Stravinsky program. My impression was the same as yours. She was pounding on keys so hard after a while, the music starts to sound the same. She needs to work on quieter passages I think to offset the turbulent bits. Without them they become a wall of noise.

For all those who think todays artists are autobots and long for the days of old, posted on October 1, 2014 at 05:50:26
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	You'd think Katia would be their hero. She certainly has her own unique take on every piece of music she plays and clearly she is not sacrificing passionate playing for the sake of note perfection. By all measures she should be seen as a throw back to those mythical values of individualism, passion and sloppy technique. I wonder why we don't see that from the nay sayers of today's artists.

Possible answers, posted on October 1, 2014 at 07:28:31
Amphissa Audiophile Posts: 2717 Location: Zardoz Joined: March 9, 2004	"I wonder why we don't see that from the nay sayers of today's artists." Maybe because they (whoever they are) never said that about yesterday's artists either. Or maybe because "babe-ism" does not infect discussions about musicians of yesterday -- or male musicians of today, for that matter. "Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

RE: Possible answers, posted on October 1, 2014 at 07:45:12
David Smith	...or about today's artists... Dave

I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 09:54:28
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26477 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	. . . was that one criticism of today's artists (babe or not) on the part of some listeners is that they miss the element of risk that was characteristic of what they associate with older performers. And regardless of what one may think of Khatia overall, there's certainly a high level of risk in her playing.

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 12:06:39

Analog Scott
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What I was really saying is that the criticism strikes me as having an "old is good new is bad" bias. If it didn't then I would think Khatia would be getting a great deal more praise from those who see past artists as superior to today's artists. I strongly suspect that if someone were to doctor up many of her live recordings, make them sound vintage and then attach a legendary name to them that the fans of the old "legendary" artists would love them.

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 12:29:21

Amphissa
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Joined: March 9, 2004

Except that Scott was specifically saying that they (whoever they are) should embrace Khatia as their hero, despite her many mistakes and wrong notes, just because she plays with passion -- just as they (whoever they are) do with musicians from years gone by.

I would question the validity of that argument.

But hey, if you add passion to the already powerful babe effect, who could possibly resist? She should be everyone's hero.

"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 12:45:55

Analog Scott
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The argument more specifically was that she has a unique take on all the music she plays and that she plays with such passion with little concern for wrong notes that we see her playing a lot of wrong notes. This is a common argument for the superiority of artists of the past over today's artists. These are traits that are commonly cited as the reasons why the artists of yesterday are superior to today's artists generally speaking. So what exactly is wrong with the argument? If you are going to question it then let's see the actual questions.

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 13:43:12

rbolaw

I don't know if this straw man you're setting up has anything to do with me. I have said that certain technical standards and expectations for classical music performance are much higher today due in part to modern recording technology.

But that doesn't mean I think that is entirely a bad thing. I'm actually a middle of the roader on the current situation, I think it has both advantages and drawbacks. I've discussed this issue with many over the years, and some feel so strongly about it that if they were posting here I might be taking your side and arguing against them. When you're a middle of the roader, you take heat from both extremes.

As for Khatia's performance of the Schumann concerto (a favorite piece of mine, I performed it with my college orchestra with a good friend and classmate as the soloist), I can see how it might provoke both positive and less than fully positive reactions. However, I don't think her occasional fluffed notes would be my main focus if I were sitting in the concert hall, though perhaps there are a few too many. I do think that if I listened to that same performance 10 times, I might begin to anticipate those particular fluffed notes, and they would become irritating. That is a big reason such things are usually edited out of commercial recordings.

As for her dress and her flopping and flying hair, it's all a matter of personal taste. Of course I could close my eyes, but to me they are affectations I could do without.

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 16:51:12
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	1. Where is the straw man here? 2. I was not thinking of any one person, but if I were to start naming names not sure yours would have come up.

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 17:30:32

rbolaw

Well, I don't know a lot of people who think classical music performers of yesterday are generally superior to performers of today. As in all arts, with the passage of time only the best and most remarkable few from the past are remembered. The many ordinary ones are pretty much forgotten. Some have particular favorites who remain their favorites even long after they have passed away. But that doesn't mean being old is magically better.

True, there are those annoying people who insist that the only performance worth having of something is some unobtainable obscure historic recording that was released on CD only in Europe and/or Japan. One of those guys posted here for a long time. But they don't count.

I've argued that recording, radio and TV have all had a profound effect on music (and our culture generally), and that you can see (or hear) that in the way classical music is performed, and those changes are not always for the better. But it's a long way from that to saying the old artists are generally superior. In any age, many are mediocre, few are great.

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 1, 2014 at 23:24:19
David Smith	"1. Where is the straw man here?" LOL! Dave

RE: I think what Scott was saying. . . , posted on October 2, 2014 at 07:36:08
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	Do you have anything to contribute or are you just going to be a dick as usual?

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Babe (YT)

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