[Scott[_6_]]

On Feb 15, 4:39pm, Doug McDonald wrote:
On 2/15/2012 10:56 AM, Jenn wrote: In ,
Doug wrote:

That said, telling a performer blind is almost impossible,
except in rare cases where you recognize the exact
performance. A well-listened person can tell, using
violinists, can tell Elman (who recorded well into the
hi-fi era) from Heifetz or any of a huge number of
modern virtuosi. But can they tell Heifetz from any of those
modern folks ... or the modern ones from each other?

Sure, in many cases. =A0Many performers approach certain challenges in the
literature in predictable ways, and some tonal qualities are quite
unique.

Sure ... how many Joyce Hattos can YOU identify? How many
Joyce Hattos WERE identified without non-blind A-B comparisons
with the originals?

How many Youtube live performances can you identify
just listening?

I could identify a few. But that isn't the point. No one is being
challenged to identify artists blind. They are being offered an
oportunity to evaluate different performances of the same piece blind.
This is how musicians are now evaluated when they audition for
orchestras. It can be very revealing to listen to these things under
blind conditions. If one could easily identify the artists under blind
conditions then the test really is no longer blind. I asked that if
anyone recognize a given performance and can identify the artist that
they keep it to themselves so as to keep the comparisons blind for the
other people on the forum. I'm thinking of doing a second comparison
now that it looks like the first one has taken off over at the Steve
Hoffman forum.

I wanted to do these comparisons because I believe that in classical
music that reputation carries far more sway than is deserved with many
fans of the genre. Take away the identity and the performance has to
stand on it's own merits.

In these kinds of comparisons I don't think tone is much of a give
away. Certainly not for piano. I think tone is far more a function of
the instrument, the hall and the recording. The musician has far more
control over other aspects of the sound than tone. If you recognize a
particular artist it is far more likely because of the interpretation
and the execution of that interpretation than the tone per se. Tone
will be far more recognizable with musicians playing string and reed
instruments than piano.