Schiff runs aground

The lecture was at 2.00pm on Friday afternoon, and I was at it.

Schiff spoke wonderfully and meaningfully even to me as an amateur; I left because there was a long unscheduled break due to an audience medical emergency about an hour in, and knowing that Schiff can talk for a very long time I knew if I did not leave at that point I would end up missing a vital meeting at 4.30pm.

That said, I do think his lectures on Beethoven were better; there just seems less of substance to say about Haydn.

Perhaps if they had stayed, maybe even asked questions, the audience members that left may have learned something.

Surely that's the whole point of going to lectures, you know, to learn.

One has to wonder quite what those who walked out were expecting. They may not have understood everything, but it's a shame they couldn't find something of interest which might spur them find out more. Surely Schiff has a right to expect some level knowledge from an audience for such a lecture. If he had to explain 'tonic and dominant tonal relationships' each time, he wouldn't get very far.

If Andras Schiff would take these wonderful ideas and put them into the form of lecture/recital and commit them to dvd recordings, can you imagine that he would make alot of money? I am sure there are many fans who would be excited to make the purchases. Why limit himself to a one-time recital? As for the theoretical inclusions, it brings me back to 1988, when I spent two hours in the home of the legendary Lucille Ball. We discussed communicating to audiences, and Lucy suggested I talk with my audiences and bring myself closer to them in a personal way, so they feel who I am and what I do more intimately. I am sure she meant that the communication would require my utilizing language that is understandable to the audience as a whole. I have always remembered this--and the use of language depends a great deal on where the performance is, and I always look around before the performance to see who is walking through the concert hall, and then guage my speech accordingly.